What Will You Do When Everyone Knows?
by sariahsue
Summary: Black hands darted forward to catch her, but too late she realized it wasn't her partner. Cold gloves caught her shoulder and neck, then slid up to her face. The woman's touch froze Ladybug's breath in her throat. Cat's shout sounded distant as he pulled her away. As the black gloves left her face, Ladybug felt even more heat being pulled from her, along with... something else.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was a beautiful, sunny morning in Paris. Summer sun glinted off of open windows, birds chirped, people smiled at each other in the streets, and Ladybug was trying not to tear her hair out in frustration.

"That one was awful!"

"I think you meant _paw_ -ful."

"No! I meant awful!"

In truth, the banter between the two superheroes had been the only thing interesting about this particular akuma attack. The woman was dressed in all black and hadn't spoken a word. She would jump forward, try to grab their miraculous, fail, then jump away before they could pin her down. She had kept it up for almost an hour, not trying to exact revenge on whoever had upset her or even destroy anything. This, of course, made it very difficult to try to figure out where the akuma was hiding, but it also meant the civilians weren't panicking, which was a bonus.

"Should we try to split up?" Ladybug asked. She had landed on top of a building to catch her breath, and her partner landed lightly beside her. "Try to catch her in between us?" Across the street, the akumatized victim sat on a ledge, watching them. She was head to toe in black. Her hair was black, though Ladybug wasn't sure if it was naturally that color or not, and it hung loosely down to her shoulders. Cat Noir had informed her that her irises were black as well. She studied the duo impassively, waiting. It was unnerving.

Cat Noir thought about her suggestion. "I'd rather not," he finally said. "We really don't know if she's capable of anything else yet."

Ladybug wanted to sit down. Even with the extra stamina that the suits gave them, this was exhausting, but even though people weren't panicking, she didn't want them to see her taking a break. They needed to finish this before either of them or their miraculous ran out of energy. "Should we try Lucky Charm?"

Cat Noir shrugged. "I was thinking maybe fake splitting up."

"How's that different than actual splitting up?"

The akuma victim hopped off the ledge and landed among the crowd on the street. People skittered away, but the woman in black just stood there, looking up at them.

"So you go pretend you're leaving and then actually go hide, and maybe she'll try a different tactic when it's one-on-one, and then you come out and grab her when her back is turned."

Ladybug huffed. "I'm not running."

"Well, I'm not using _you_ as bait, My Lady."

The woman in black crouched, ready to spring. Ladybug started spinning her yo-yo as Cat Noir readied his baton, leveling it like a staff.

"I don't see a difference between your fake splitting up and real splitting up." She was about to say something about his comment about bait, but the woman leapt up. If there was one thing they had learned about her, it was that she could jump. They stepped in closer, shoulder to shoulder to catch her as she landed, but she twisted in midair, landing squarely in front of Cat Noir, swiping at him. He stepped back, trying to keep his balance. Her fingertips almost touched his face, and Ladybug felt her stomach lurch.

"Duck!" she yelled to him as she whipped her yoyo around. He did, but unfortunately, the akuma woman did, too. Ladybug suddenly had no target to latch onto and lost her balance. Her stomach twisted again as she pitched forward. Black hands darted forward to catch her, but too late she realized it wasn't her partner. Cold gloves caught her shoulder and neck, then slid up her face, brushing past her earrings. Cold. The woman's touch froze Ladybug's breath in her throat.

Then there was something warm around her middle. Cat Noir's shout sounded distant as he pulled her away. As the woman's black gloves left her face, Ladybug felt even more heat being pulled her, along with... something else.

"Are you all right?"

Ladybug didn't answer. She pushed her partner away and started reeling in her yoyo, preparing to throw it again, but the woman had already jumped away and was running across the next rooftop.

"I'm not letting her get away again," she said.

Cat Noir caught her wrist. "Are you okay?" Ladybug tried to shake him off, but he held her firm. "What's wrong?"

Ladybug touched her free hand to her face, relieved that her mask was still in place, then rubbed her palm over where the woman had touched her, trying to get rid of the memory of the cold fingers. She had taken something. What was it?

"I don't know," she finally said, turning to face him. He wasn't looking at her, instead keeping an eye on the woman, who was getting farther and farther away. "Something doesn't feel right. Do I look different?"

He spared her a glance. "I think you look great."

"Wonderful," she said, twisting her wrist out of Cat Noir's grip. "Then let's finally catch her."

"I'm getting pretty tired of his game of cat and mouse myself," he said, eyes back on the akuma victim.

Something was wrong. Where the woman had before tried to grab their miraculous, now she only ran. They were losing ground. Wind whipped around Ladybug as she swung, her hair tickling her face. She got a temporary break from Cat Noir's flirting as he focused on matching her pace, but they never caught back up. Ladybug focused on moving forward, trying to drown out the hollow feeling that something was missing.

"We're going to lose her," Ladybug said. They had stopped on a high rise, and she could barely make out the speck that was their target in the slanting afternoon sun. How long had this been going on for? And what had the woman taken from her?

"Well, I'm kind of glad that it's too late for us to split up," Cat Noir said, breathing heavily. "I'd hate to be separated from a lady as lovely as yourself."

Tired of keeping up appearances for the civilians and just plain tired, Ladybug sat down on the ledge of the roof. She pointedly ignored Cat Noir's comment. "What should we do then? Someone must have noticed we're missing by now." Cat Noir turned his face away from her and shrugged. "And I have things I have to do," she continued. Like study for her math final. Help in the bakery. Work on that design that had been bothering her. Daydream about Adrien.

Traffic had picked up below them. Cars coughed in the streets and there was an occasional honk. Rush hour.

"There's nowhere I'd rather be than here with you, LB," Cat Noir said. "But you're right. This obviously isn't working. We can't catch someone who's faster than us."

"We might have to regroup to set some sort of trap for her." She grimaced. "That'll be difficult, not knowing what she wants."

"I have an answer to that." Cat Noir snapped his fingers. "The internet! It's a magical place that has the answer to everything."

Ladybug stood up. She had completely lost sight of the black speck. "Right. I'm sure YouTube has a how-to on setting up a trap to catch your magical enemies."

"It does? I hope Hawk Moth doesn't watch that one. But I was actually thinking about the Ladyblog."

Of course. How could she have forgotten? "Trust Alya to already have an exclusive with the victim's family." It really was the best idea. The akuma didn't seem intent on hurting anyone. They could come back later, fully refreshed and with a solid plan. But...

"Are you okay with just leaving her loose?" he asked.

"Not really," she said. "We don't know..." she gestured widely.

He caught her drift. "Anything," he said. "Where she's going to go."

"Or if she's just waiting for us to detransform." Ladybug shrunk in on herself at the thought. Did the woman have a plan? She had so many advantages over them. Ladybug felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

She nodded. "There's nothing else we can do right now, just wait for her next move and be ready. We'll both keep an eye on the news and check back in tomorrow. Sound good, kitty?"

"Sounds purrfect. You know, it would be really helpful if we had an easy way to contact each other."

"I agree," she said, holding up her yoyo and smirking at him. "Good thing we have these."

"Oh, come on!"

But she had already thrown the weapon and was swinging away. "No phone numbers!"

"How about your email?" he called back. She was already too far away to answer.

As soon as she had swung behind a building, the smile slipped off her face. By the time she had found a deserted alley to destransform unseen, her skin was crawling.

"Any idea what she did?" Marinette asked as Tikki floated toward her purse.

"I didn't notice anything," the kwami said. "Maybe it was just a feeling?" She slipped into the purse, no doubt looking for the cookies Marinette had stashed in there. It had been an exhausting day for both of them.

She should have been pulling out her phone to check the blog. She should be doing research. She should get back home before she had even more questions to answer. But all she was able to do was put her arms around herself and shiver in the building's dark shadow.

What had that woman taken?

* * *

Author note: Hi? I'm hoping to update this thing every few days, but I'm a huge procrastinator. Ha ha. I actually have a bunch of ideas that will probably be irrelevant as soon as season two comes out, so I do need to get a move on with writing my stories before it's too late. Uhh... does anything else need to go in these author note thingies?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sunday dawned overcast, and it didn't make Marinette feel any better. Without waking Tikki, who was nestled next to her head, she crept down her ladder and turned on her computer. No news. How could there be no news? Maybe Hawk Moth had called back his akuma, thinking that the woman had failed.

"Anything?" came Tikki's high voice. So much for letting the kwami sleep. Marinette closed the browser and headed toward the bathroom.

"No, but I haven't checked the Ladyblog yet. I'm going to walk around and look for her." She still felt the pinpricks of unease and rubbed a hand over her heart, hoping that would get rid of the sensation. It didn't.

"I'm sure Alya's found something out by now," Tikki said. "A walk sounds like a nice idea, but you should probably study."

"Yeah..." Marinette guiltily closed the bathroom door, shutting out Tikki's disapproving pout.

In the end, they settled on a compromise. They went on the walk, but Marinette had to drag her math book along. The thing was heavy. Instead of cracking it open when she found a park bench to sit on, she pulled out her phone. Good thing Tikki had to hide and couldn't scold her.

Alya _had_ updated the blog. At 1:00 that morning.

"Crazy girl," she said with a smile.

The woman's name was Chantal Renard, 18 years old, and she was still missing. She'd had an argument with her boyfriend yesterday morning, but he claimed he had no idea why she'd been akumatized or what the item could be. Of course not. Alya reported he knew more than he was sharing; Marinette was inclined to agree. Maybe he'd talk to Ladybug about it?

She should get on that right away, like right now. Math could wait, but Paris' safety really shouldn't. And she couldn't transform with a textbook again, so she'd have to drop it off back home. What a shame. A clap of thunder and a few raindrops signaled the end of her walk, anyway.

She put the phone away to keep it dry and stood up. A dozen or so people had come to the park to enjoy the warm weather, but they started scattering to look for cover as the raindrops became fatter and came faster. Marinette turned to go home when she had the eerie sensation that she was being watched. No one in the park was looking at her. She was close enough to the street to see that the people at the crosswalk weren't paying any attention to her either. She spun in a circle, completely alone, but the feeling didn't go away.

 _This whole thing is just messing with me._ She'd go find Chantal's boyfriend, wring him dry for information, and then go home and design something. That would help clear her head.

By the time she left the park and was across the street, the shower had become a full-blown storm, and she had to resort to using the book for an umbrella. Well, at least she hadn't dragged it all the way out there for no reason, though she couldn't help but wish a certain someone would magically appear to lend her his umbrella again. She blushed and tried – and failed – not to smile like an idiot.

Okay. What was the boyfriend's name again? Alya would _probably_ give her his address if she asked. Now, how could she phrase the question to avoid suspicion? She fished out her phone, keeping it close to her face under the book-umbrella, and tried not to walk into anyone. She was mostly successful, though she did manage to walk into a wall.

Just as she was about to hit send, her screen turned black. Had the phone died? But no, a face appeared, pale with black eyes and black hair. "Hello, Paris," she said. Her voice was loud and as expressionless as her face. "I have a message for you."

Marinette stopped. The voice echoed as it spoke from every phone around her. People pulled out their devices. The rain beat on her harder and dripped off the book.

"Ladybug's identity has remained a secret for too long. Her real name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"No." Her voice was barely a whisper. Her heartbeat was in her throat. _So that's what she took. Information. She took my name!_

She'd hide for a few weeks. She'd change her name... her parents... she'd...

But the woman in black wasn't done. Marinette's most recent school picture flashed on the screen, happy and smiling. Rain trickled down the back of her neck, but it couldn't make her any colder than she already was. If she could melt into a puddle right now, she would. The screen finally went black, but Marinette kept staring at it. This couldn't have been real, right? She was having a nightmare.

The other people on the street were looking at her.

"Hey," said an older woman. She gestured to her phone. "Are you-"

Marinette ran.

Behind her, the woman called for her to come back, but she turned a corner and pushed herself to go faster. She had to get home.

 _I'm not Ladybug._

Her bag thumped on her hip and she quickly snatched it up, giving Tikki a breathless apology.

 _I'm running home. Would the real Ladybug be running at a time like this? No. She'd be using her superpowers. I'm not Ladybug._

Her phone rang. She didn't answer.

 _I have to beat Hawk Moth to my house, because he can't hurt my family, because I swear I'm not Ladybug!_

She ignored several pings of incoming text messages. A few people honked at her, and one pulled over and started to open their door, but she ducked down a side street before the driver could speak.

Within minutes, she saw the dark windows of the bakery. They must have closed early. Their street was empty. The door was locked. Why weren't reporters swarming her house? Was it a trap?

She opened her purse, reaching for the keys, and felt Tikki's soft paw rest gently on her knuckle. The kwami looked almost mournful. The keys jangled in Marinette's trembling hands as she unlocked the door. The house was quiet.

"Maman?! Papa?!"

"Up here, sweetheart," her mother called. She sounded calm. _Is it a trap? Are they disappointed with me?_

She barreled up the stairs, trying to drown out her fears, and threw open the living room door.

There on the couch were her parents, and between them sat a figure dressed completely in black, waving at her. His mouth was full, and he was positively beaming at her.

* * *

 _Author note: I got a lot of writing done this week! It was mostly plotting, and not this chapter. Ha ha. Sorry. The chapters will start to get longer after this. In fact, my notes for chapter three are longer than all of chapter two. *facepalm* Chapter three's going to be much longer (and more adorable)._

 _Also, completely unrelated to this story, I don't think Nino's getting the turtle miraculous. There. I said it. I think he's getting the peacock miraculous._

 _Also, also, Unfound Name, that was a really good guess! I would totally read that story. Thank you, and thank you guests, for the reviews! And thank you everyone for the views, follows and favorites!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Cat Noir, what are you doing in my house?"

He swallowed and held up a cookie, still smiling. "Hi, Princess! I'm eating cookies."

 _No, you aren't._ _You're protecting my family._

"Oh, Marinette," Tom said as he got up from the couch, "you're soaking wet." He shuffled off, probably to get a towel, while Sabine reached over to a book in Cat Noir's lap and flipped a page.

"And here's another one," she was saying. "She really went through a unicorn phase that year."

"Maman!" Marinette yelled, dropping her book and phone on the floor and clapping her hands to her face in embarrassment. "You can't show him those!"

"Oh, but you were so cute!"

Marinette crossed the living room in three large leaps and dove over the coffee table, snatching the incriminating photo album away from her startled partner. She snapped it shut, praying he hadn't seen anything too awful. Oh, who was she kidding? Her parents probably showed him the most cringe-worthy stuff first. She threw the album on her father's vacant spot next to Cat Noir and then sat on it.

He gave her a flat look. "Fine. But if you try to take these cookies away from me, I will fight you." Without breaking eye contact, he reached for another. There was a plate piled high on the table in front of him.

"I would win that fight, and we both know it." One of his cat ears twitched in the direction of the door, but he didn't say anything about it, so she didn't comment on it.

They only broke eye contact when Tom dropped a towel on her head. "So the news is true, then?" he asked.

Marinette took out her pigtails and toweled off. Everyone waited until she finally let out a breath and said, "Yeah. Sorry you all found out this way."

Sabine reached across Cat Noir and put a hand on her daughter's knee. "If it makes you feel any better, dear, your father and I have been suspicious for months."

Cat Noir chuckled. "Being sneaky just isn't your thing, LB."

"Ugh!" She hid her face under the towel again as her mother took her hand away. How could this have happened? Hawk Moth and his akuma were playing dirty, exposing her like this. She racked her brain for a solution but couldn't think of anything. What would they do now? How could she still be Ladybug if everyone knew who she was? The thought made her already low spirits sink. Would Master Fu take the earrings back? Rain hit the window and thunder rumbled.

Cat Noir lifted up the edge of the towel and peeked in. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better. You?"

"Well, My Lady, I'm _feline paw-_ sitively _meow-_ velou-" Marinette threw the towel at his face.

"I refuse to listen to three in a row. Stop."

"But I'm not ready to throw in the _towel_ yet," he said, holding it up. He was smiling, but it looked forced. His shoulders were hunched, and his eyes were filled with concern. He was obviously doing his best to cheer her up, and while this whole situation was making her feel a bit queasy, she appreciated his effort. She was very aware of the fact that if Hawk Moth called back his akuma in favor of a new one, she'd make an easy target.

"Now, now," said her father, who was still standing next to the couch, "you shouldn't interrupt our guest, young _lady._ "

Marinette turned very slowly toward him as Cat Noir tried to muffle a laugh.

"Did you just-"

"Nice one, Mr. Dupain. Really, Marinette, you _knead_ to listen to your father."

"No." She whipped around and pointed at Cat Noir. "No." Her mother just sighed in resignation before walking to the window.

"Please, call me _Tom, Cat."_

"Stop it! Stop it, both of you!"

They both laughed, and Marinette started smiling weakly in spite of herself. Maybe they could make the most out of this situation after all. Cat Noir's black ear flicked toward the door again.

"I hate to tell you this, but..." Sabine was looking out the window, staring down toward the street.

"What?" asked Cat Noir. "Is it still raining cats and dogs?"

They heard someone knocking on the door downstairs.

"No," she said, ignoring the pun and turning toward Marinette. "There's a bunch of reporters outside."

All the good feeling created by the joking suddenly evaporated, and Marinette pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Want me to tell them to get lost?" Cat Noir offered.

"Thanks, Kitty, but it would probably be better if they didn't see you. It would just confirm it. I kind of want to ignore them until they go away."

He nodded and sank deeper into the couch, staring sadly at the mountain of cookies. His ear twitched again. "Your phone keeps beeping."

"Oh, sorry," she said, getting up to fetch it. So that was what he'd been hearing. "I should put it on silent. Or maybe just turn it off."

"Aren't you going to read your messages?"

She checked the time. Almost noon. It had already been thirty minutes. Thirty minutes for the world to react to Ladybug's secret identity.

"I'm honestly too scared to. Want to check them for me?" She unlocked the phone and tossed it to him, then kicked the math book out of the doorway. Her parents had both moved to look out the window. Tom pulled Sabine close, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. What must this be like for them?

By the time she sat back down, Cat Noir was scrolling through the dozens of messages she'd gotten.

"Most of these are from Alya. No surprise there... Couple from Nino. Some from Chloe, inviting her bestie over. I think she means you."

Marinette groaned. So Chloe liked Ladybug more than she hated Marinette. She wasn't sure, but this might be her least favorite thing about the whole reveal.

Cat Noir scrolled some more. "There's a wrong-" The phone pinged again. "Alya wants to know if she can come over."

Marinette looked over at her parents, who nodded their approval. Their faces were pinched with worry.

"Tell her it's fine, as long as she's here as a friend, and a not a journalist." He typed quietly for a few seconds before she finally asked, "How can you text with those claws?"

Cat Noir squinted at the screen in concentration. "Practice. There. Anyway, there's a random wrong number saying "You're welcome," a few from some of your classmates, thanking us, and who's Suyin?"

"What? Let me see that."

She read the whole message three times, just in case there was any way she could have possibly misunderstood, then handed it back over. She tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling.

After a few seconds of silence, Sabine said, "Suyin is one of her cousins in Beijing."

"It's already reached China," Marinette said. "The whole world knows." Another flash of lightning cast long shadows across the ceiling, and an echoing knock sounded from downstairs again. How could they possibly fix this now? There was nothing they could do. She closed her eyes in defeat.

"We'll get through this together, Marinette," Tom said. "It's not the end of the world."

"Feels like it." She leaned over and and tried to bury her face in Cat Noir's shoulder. "I'm doomed."

"Uh..." Cat Noir patted her awkwardly on the head.

Marinette sat back up as quickly as she'd slumped down, suddenly very aware that he hadn't tried flirting with her once the whole time he'd been there. Why wasn't he flirting with her? It could have been just bad timing. They were both upset, and her parents were watching. But what if it was something else? Had he taken one look at her civilian self and decided he didn't have a crush on her after all? Was he disappointed that she was so average? Or had he always been joking and never serious about liking her in the first place? What if it was something else?

Why was she even worrying about this?

"Can I talk to your for a minute?" he asked.

"Uh, sure?"

He nodded toward her parents, who had moved to the kitchen to give them space and were trying to look busy. "Superhero stuff. Can we go somewhere else?"

Marinette looked down at the plate of cookies and grabbed a few. Tikki probably wanted to get out of her purse. "My room's upstairs."

She was closing the trapdoor and looking around before she realized her mistake. Cat Noir was in her room, and her walls were covered in pictures of another boy. He was going to see them unless she distracted him somehow.

"So, Cat!" she said brightly, waving her arms to draw his attention. "What did you..."

It was too little, too late. Cat Noir saw the pictures, and his eyes went wide.

* * *

 _Author note: This chapter brought to you by the internet. It's a magical place that has the answer to everything. Yes, I had to google for cat puns. Those few lines were honestly the most time-consuming part of writing this._

 _So I know I said this chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I broke it up right down the middle (I think it's the middle) for two reasons. One, I set a goal for myself to have the next update over the weekend, and I knew I wasn't going to have the whole thing ready by then. Two, I realized I had a good chapter ending right there and really, really didn't want to waste it. If I hadn't broken it up, this chapter would probably have been about 3,000 words and would have updated on Monday or Tuesday at the earliest. What do you think? Are these okay lengths for chapters, or should I take more time in between updates to write longer chapters? I honestly have no idea, so feedback is welcomed._

 _And I have to admit, the image of having Marinette publicly outed, then finding out Cat had beaten her home and was being fed cookies and shown baby pictures by her parents was the ENTIRE inspiration for this story._

 _Thank you again for all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows. It's exciting to see other people enjoying this story! To my guest reviewer, Mari probably wishes she were going crazy! SapphireDragon4437, no proposal here, but I hope there's enough cuteness in this fic to satisfy you. :)_

 _I feel like this author note is way too long. Is it too long? I don't know, but now I'm rambling and making it even longer. Okay, I'll stop now._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Cat Noir's eyes flitted around her room, taking in every single picture of Adrien. She had wondered if he was really serious about liking her. Well, she was about to find out, and she wasn't sure she was going to like the answer. Plus, this was not the time to be upsetting him. Hawk Moth didn't need both of them to be easy targets.

"Listen," she said, trying to think of something to soften the blow. Was there some sort of cover story she could pull together? She didn't want to lie to him, but she didn't want to see him hurt either. "About the pictures..." Her mind went blank.

"Well," he finally said. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and then he smirked. "Looks like _somebody's_ got a huge crush on Adrien Agreste."

Marinette spluttered. "W-what?! No, I d-don't!"

"Oh, yes, you do. You're even blushing."

Marinette covered her cheeks with Tikki's cookies to try to hide the worst of it, but the look on Cat Noir's face said it was no use. She hadn't been expecting to be teased about this. She hadn't been expecting a smile, the brightest and most beautiful she'd ever seen him wear.

"I design stuff. Those are there for inspiration."

"Oh, so Adrien is inspiring? Good to know."

How was his smiling getting bigger?

"Clothes- design- inspire. Ugh, stop laughing!" She shoved him, but it didn't dampen his mood. Though this was completely mortifying, she was actually relieved. At least one of them was having a good time. And it seriously uncomplicated their partnership if they were both happy being only friends. This was good. So where was that twinge of disappointment coming from?

"Hey, Princess, I actually know this guy in real life." He leaned toward her, like he wanted to tell her a secret. "Want me to talk to him for you?"

"Would you? I mean, no! I want to talk to him!" She waved her arms at him, not sure what point she was trying to emphasize. "I-I mean, I don't have a crush on him. I don't know what talking you- I mean, what you're talking about. No crush. You can ask anyone."

He looked away, back at the framed picture on her desk. "I'm going to ask all these Adriens."

She took the opportunity to glance at the computer screen. Had she turned it off that morning, or was it just sleeping? She did not want him to see her collage background. Or the schedule. She would never hear the end of it.

When her eyes found Cat Noir's, he was still smiling, but he seemed suddenly hesitant. "Can I... tell you who I am?"

"What?" Where had that come from? "No."

His smile and the tips of his cat ears drooped very slightly. "Please, I want you to know."

She waved off his response, shaking her head. "It's too dangerous. Wait. Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Ah." He took a step back and shook his head, obviously trying to refocus. "I actually wanted to see if I could meet your kwami, see if he or she's got any ideas about what we should do."

"She, actually." Marinette put a hand to the mouth of her bag and faltered. Everything suddenly felt more real. Her partner was going to meet her kwami. She was Ladybug unmasked, and all three of them knew it. She steeled herself, then opened the purse.

"HI!" Tikki came streaking out, straight toward Cat Noir's face. He jumped back in surprise. "I'm Tikki! Plagg probably never tells you this, so I'm going to. I think you're doing a great job! It's nice to finally meet you in person."

Cat Noir looked stunned for the second time in five minutes. "You're officially my favorite kwami."

Tikki giggled. "Plagg takes some getting used to. He means well, though."

Marinette held up a cookie, which Tikki happily started eating in her open palm. "Plagg? He's not that bad is he?"

"Ehh," Cat Noir said. "He's... Plagg. And kind of annoying."

They both watched Tikki munch contentedly for a few seconds. _This isn't as weird as I thought it would be._

"I agree with your father," Tikki said as she finished her first cookie and grabbed the next one. "We can get through this together."

"Has anything like this happened before?" Cat Noir asked her. His eyes kept flicking toward the pictures scattered around the room, and Marinette was having a hard time keeping her face blank.

"Of course!"

"Really?" Cat Noir sounded hopeful. "How'd it turn out?"

"Easier to control than this," Marinette said. "Last time, people continents away weren't hearing about it within minutes. Right?"

"This is the first time since the internet that it's happened, but I don't think that matters much."

"What?!" Marinette almost shrieked. "What?! You were the one who said I couldn't tell anyone! How are you being so calm about this?"

Tikki put her cookie down, floated to Marinette's nose, and gave it a tiny, tiny hug. It tickled. "There's still an akuma loose. You two should be focusing on that. There's no sense worrying about something you don't have control over."

"The victim needs our help, too," Cat Noir said.

Marinette sighed. Chantal was really the last person she wanted to help right now, but they were both right. It wasn't the akuma victim's fault, and they had a job to do. "We still don't have a plan on how to catch her."

"I was thinking about that," Cat Noir said. "She got your identity when she touched you, right?"

Marinette nodded, the memory turning her insides to ice. "We still don't know what she wants, though." _Or where she is._ She looked out the window. Rivulets of water distorted the view of the neighboring buildings, but no akuma stared back at her.

"We have one thing she wants." He put a hand on his chest.

"Absolutely not."

"We have to stop her."

"We are not using you or your identity as bait." Marinette scrutinized him through squinted eyes. True, she didn't have any better ideas, but she couldn't help but feel that part of his offering was based on the hope that he'd be revealed to her.

Tikki bobbed between them, quietly crunching on her snack.

"I'm open to other ideas," he said.

Sabine's voice floated, muffled, up through the trapdoor. "Kids! Alya's here!"

"I'll just hide out here," Tikki said, drifting up toward the bed. "We don't want to give away all your secrets."

"We'll think of something," Marinette said to Cat Noir, reaching down to grab the trapdoor's handle. "This is awful, and I'm not letting it happen to you, but we probably shouldn't make Alya wait."

"Girl! Get down here or I'm coming up there!"

Cat Noir chuckled and helped lift the trapdoor, holding it open for her. "Ladies first," he said with a wink.

* * *

 _Author note: Oh, man, this chapter was so much fun, I can't even tell you. Next chapter: Alya! How long will it take her to break down and start asking questions? (Pft. Not very long.)_

 _I started posting this on AO3, so if you pre-"fur" that site, go check it out. It's under the same title and username. Ah ha ha. Lame cat puns. Adrien would be so proud._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Alya didn't even wait for them to reach the bottom step before literally pouncing. Marinette was knocked backward into her partner, who somehow managed to keep all three of them from falling. Marinette had to awkwardly push herself off of Cat Noir, and she caught the beginning of a blush start to blossom on his cheeks before she was distracted by Alya grabbing at her face and pigtails.

"It is true! Look at you! You look just like her!"

"She looks like me, you mean."

"I look like myself," Cat Noir offered helpfully. He seemed to have mostly recovered from the Marinette sandwich incident.

"You!" Alya said, turning. "Hi, I'm Alya! I run the Ladyblog."

"I know," he said. "I read that blog."

"Really?" Alya looked beside herself with glee.

"Really, Cat?" Marinette deadpanned. "Uh, do I not need to introduce you two, then?"

"So you're here for moral support, right?" Alya didn't even acknowledge the question. Marinette took that as a no.

"Any excuse to spend more time with My Lady." He quickly glanced at Marinette. Wait. Was that what she thought it was? It was far more subdued than his usual style, but that definitely sounded like flirting. Or was he just being nice?

Alya had started gushing about being best friends with Ladybug, so she didn't notice his comment. "I can't believe I didn't realize it! It's so obvious now!"

"And it was a pain in the butt to hide from you, I'll have you know."

"I was so close with the history book, too!"

Tom and Sabine attempted to save their daughter from Alya's onslaught with an offer of lunch. They were only mildly successful, though Marinette didn't really mind. It was a nice distraction from the dismal future that awaited her. Having Cat Noir there was comforting, but Alya's good mood was contagious. Even the rain seemed to be affected. A few minutes into their lunch, sunshine started peeking through the window. Marinette didn't have much of an appetite, but her friends stayed at the table long after they'd finished as she continued to nibble on her food.

The next few hours were a mix of anxious laughter, some honest laughter, video games (Alya lost, badly), and lots of bad cat puns. Marinette even made a few of those herself. Though Alya had come over after promising not to pry, the temptation quickly proved too great. The questions started out simple enough. "So this is why you're always late, huh?" And, "What's it like having super powers?" And even, "Think you guys can snag me a miraculous?" As the hours dragged on, her questions eventually became more serious.

"So what do you think Hawk Moth's plan is?"

"I'm... not really sure?" She glanced at Cat Noir, who just shrugged. They hadn't really talked about it, but she did have her own suspicions.

"Really?" Alya asked. "No ideas whatsoever?"

"Um, no?"

"I don't believe you." She leaned forward, like a fox closing in on a rabbit. "You two have more insight into Hawk Moth than anyone else. You must have some idea about the game he's playing here."

"You know, this is starting to sound suspiciously like an interview."

Alya threw up her hands. "You've been lying to me about this for as long as I've known you, and you're destroying one of my favorite ships. I deserve answers!"

"What ship?" Cat Noir asked.

Marinette tried to the keep her face cool by focusing on just the first part of Alya's complaint. "Hey, I was completely honest for the first, um, six hours of our friendship? Maybe?" The three of them were sitting on the couch, game controllers abandoned. Her parents had gone into their room an hour before and had yet to resurface. They'd mentioned wanting to call family and talk to them personally about the news. Marinette expected they'd be a while.

"You still owe me answers."

"Fine," she finally said. "But this isn't going on the blog."

"Deal." Alya tucked her legs underneath herself, gripping her phone tightly in excitement. "Off the record."

Marinette, sitting in the middle, was forced to put her back to her partner in order to face her friend. She didn't mind. She was sure her face was still a little bit pink from the shipping comment.

"I'm thinking he's trying to get one of us akumatized," she said.

"Really?" Cat Noir asked. "I thought he was going for more psychological warfare. Make us sloppy by making us worry."

"Oh," Alya said, wide-eyed. She was absentmindedly fiddling with the phone in her lap. "So that's what the goofing around's all about. I wondered. Would those plans work?"

Marinette was leaning on Cat Noir slightly and felt him shrug. She shook her head. "Neither would. We've had a lot of practice focusing on a fight through nerves."

"And what happens if he akumatizes one of you?"

"It's a stupid plan," Marinette said.

"We've already discussed what to do if that happens," Cat Noir said. And they had, months ago. "We're not even certain he can." He twisted and reached an arm around each side of Marinette so he could tap on his ring where the girls could both see. "Magic sometimes affects us differently." With his arms on either side of her, it felt almost like he was giving her a loose hug, but he pulled back to his original position quickly. Was she getting mixed signals because he was sending them, or because she was just _really_ bad at interpreting?

Words! She needed some words. "Do you remember when Nathanael was akumatized?" Marinette asked. She was leaning her back against Cat Noir's arm again, and she felt him shift at the name. "He didn't try to hurt me, not once. And Mylene didn't go after Ivan when she was akumatized. It doesn't completely erase who you are." She jerked a thumb back over her shoulder, pointing to her partner. "We'd make terrible akumas. Neither of us wants to fight the other. Hawk Moth probably knows that."

"That's why I like my idea better," Cat Noir said.

"Girl, you do realize what you just implied, right?"

Cat Noir went rigid. Marinette pinned Alya with her best Ladybug glare.

"Anyway, civilian Chantal hasn't shown back up, last I checked," Alya said quickly, attempting to cover a smile with the back of her hand. "Can he have more than one akuma at a time?" She glanced down at her phone, but snapped her head back up almost immediately, trying to pretend like nothing had happened.

"I don't think so..." Marinette trailed off, staring at Alya's phone suspiciously.

She crossed her arms, tucking the phone out of sight as she did. "Next question, how are you planning on-"

"Alya, are you recording this?"

"No!"

Marinette lurched forward, hands grasping, but she was too slow. Alya had already jumped off the couch and out of reach.

"Let me see that phone then."

"I don't trust you with phones!"

Alya had darted to the far side of the room before Marinette had even gotten around the coffee table. She waved it above her head, as if daring her to try to take it. Marinette wasn't about to turn down a challenge. Unfortunately, she turned out to be no match for her own natural clumsiness. On their second circuit around the room, she got her foot caught in a controller's wires and almost fell. Her friends both laughed as she spun her arms wildly to keep her balance.

"What's your plan to defeat Hawk Moth, Ladybug?" Alya held the phone out at arm's length like a microphone, then dodged as Marinette got close.

Marinette turned back to Cat Noir. "Aren't you going to help me?"

"Not really," he said, smiling.

It ended a few seconds later when Marinette finally fell on her face next to the couch. She rolled over only to find Alya had stolen her seat and was looking very smug. The phone was nowhere in sight.

"Traitor," Marinette said to Cat Noir. "Abandoning your partner in her time of need."

He smiled down at her quietly, eyes soft, before quickly wiping the expression off his face and getting up to lend her a hand. She took it, wondering.

 _Why is he looking at me like that? His teasing already proved he doesn't like me that way._

When she was upright, she let go of his hand quickly. They helped each other up all the time on the job, but this time she couldn't meet his eye when she thanked him. Instead she looked at Alya, who raised an eyebrow at the exchange.

"I bet I could beat both of you combined," Marinette said, snatching up a controller and tossing it to Cat Noir. He caught it with ease.

"Which game?" he asked.

"All of them."

* * *

Alya eventually convinced Marinette to allow a blog update. "You need to make some sort of statement. Show Paris this doesn't bother you."

"But it does. That's just like lying."

"It's an image thing," Cat Noir said. "It's more important now to show the people we're strong, so they don't start to worry about their safety."

"I promise I'll run it by you before I post it."

All five of them, her parents included, were sitting at the table and finishing up dinner. Marinette was propping her head up in one hand, pushing around what was left of her meal with her fork. Her parents both gave her encouraging nods. "Fffffine," she finally said. "Even though I'm sure you're only doing this for views, not for the good of Paris."

"Hey," Alya said, getting her phone out and beginning to type. "I care about Paris. It's only 95% for the views."

Marinette's eye roll was interrupted by a loud beeping. "Please tell me that was your phone."

Cat Noir jumped up, staring at his ring, before glancing at Marinette. He clearly looked alarmed.

Tom gave a mock sigh as he stood up. "Destroyed anything lately, son? I hope it wasn't valuable."

"I've never been transformed this long before. Have you?" he asked.

She shook her head, standing as well. "I guess our special powers aren't the only things that are exhausting. What do you need?" She wasn't really sure what to do. Alya was still fiddling with her phone, though she was obviously not typing anymore. Marinette got the distinct impression that she was resisting the urge to start recording again.

"Got any cheese?" he asked quietly.

"Preference?" Marinette walked over to the fridge, but when she heard another beep, she quickened her pace. She took the chance as she was opening the door to look over her shoulder. Cat Noir hadn't moved, his eyes darting to the door and windows. Whatever he had said to her about wanting to share his identity, it obviously didn't extend to her family and friends. It was strange to see her normally brash partner so nervous.

"Cheese?" Sabine asked, looking baffled.

"Don't question the magic, Maman," she said. "It doesn't help."

"We'll make due with whatever, but the more disgusting the better." He wrinkled his nose. They didn't have much of an assortment, but Marinette grabbed what she could for him. She made a mental note to start packing cheese as well as spare cookies, just in case.

"Do you, uh, want to go home and come back?" she asked. "Is it close enough?" She let the cubes tumble out of her hand and into his, making sure their fingers didn't touch.

"It's really close, but.." His ring beeped a third time. "I could just stay right here. Don't you want to meet my _paw_ -some alter ego?" His laugh had a slight shake to it.

"No," she said. They both knew he didn't mean it, not in front of everyone else. "You could go up to my room, or the bathroom's right over there." She jerked her head across the room.

He opted for her room, and he shot out of sight before she heard the fourth warning. Marinette watched him go until the trapdoor thumped shut.

"You don't know?" Alya asked. She was practically vibrating in her seat.

"Don't know what?"

"His identity," Sabine said. "We thought you both knew who the other was."

"He found out who I was along with everyone else," she said. She started grabbing plates off the table. Cat Noir must be on his last paw print by now, right? She was trying not to pay attention to it, or that nagging question. Who was he? She never really wondered until now.

"Do you want to know who he is?"

Marinette turned toward Alya, who was walking slowly toward the stairs. "Alya, no. Don't you dare." Marinette's initial panic launched her across the room, and her burst of speed got her to the bottom step before Alya, who – Marinette realized too late – was grinning mischievously. Alya took a step closer, forcing her up a step.

Marinette glanced up at the closed trapdoor. Alya noticed. "So you are curious," she said, and stepped closer again.

"I'm not," she said.

Alya leaned forward, further into her friend's space, and Marinette went up another two steps to avoid her. As long as she could stay between her and the bedroom door for a few more minutes, everything would be fine.

Alya didn't stop advancing until Marinette's hair brushed the door. Unless he was standing on the door itself, all she had to do was push. He'd probably let her in. She faintly heard his final warning and looked up just in time to see a green flash outline the door. She heard a new voice, first talking and then cackling. It was followed by a loud "Shh! She'll hear you!" and then a high pitch squeal of joy that was probably Tikki.

"Girl, civilian Cat Noir is right there. Don't you want to see who he is?"

 _Maybe._

Marinette stared her best friend down, barring the way with her arms. "It's a secret identity. Emphasis on the _secret._ "

"How did he know where you lived, then?" Tom asked. "He was here less than a minute after the announcement. We thought he must have known beforehand."

"He did know," she said, unsure of how much detail she should go into. "I, uh, kind of got asked out by an akuma once." She could still hear excited chattering coming from above her. She willed them to hurry up. Her arms were getting tired.

Her parents were naturally alarmed. "Did you say yes?" "What happened?" "Marinette, that was dangerous!" "You wouldn't have been able to transform if something had gone wrong." They stared up at her from the bottom of the stairs.

"Cat was right there. I was fine." She glanced Alya for help, but she looked content to watch Marinette get herself deeper in trouble. While the brief interrogation by her parents was something she would have rather avoided, Alya seemed more entertained with Marinette's current predicament than she was pushing her farther up the stairs. If she could only hold out a little bit-

Another green flash leaked around the door, shining a thin line on the walls around her. _Finally._ The door creaked open. "Oh, did you all miss me that much?" he said. They must have been a sight, all bunched around the stairs.

She put her arms down. "How can we miss you if you won't go away?"

* * *

Cat Noir didn't go away, not that Marinette had wanted him to.

The summer sun had long since set when Alya announced that she was tired and going to bed. "Marinette's tired, too," she said, grabbing her by the wrist and practically yanking her to her feet.

Her parents wished them both sweet dreams without getting off the couch, but Cat Noir jumped up and caught Marinette's free wrist. "We'll meet up tomorrow after school?"

"Sure, unless she shows up again before that." She made a face. "Guess I won't have to lie about why I'm leaving class anymore."

"I like your positive _cat-_ titude," he said, winking at her.

Alya shooed him away. "That's enough flirting for one day, fur ball. It's girl talk time. No eavesdropping."

Marinette's last image of Cat Noir was the picture of innocence, face angelic and crossing a clawed finger over his heart. It was only marred by his black ears perking up in anticipation.

"So what's your relationship status with the cat?" Alya asked as soon as she dropped the trapdoor.

"Shh!" Marinette glanced at the door, like she would be able to see her partner's curious face beyond it. "He's got very good hearing," she whispered. Alya continued to stare at her expectantly. "Our relationship status is that he came up here and teased me about having a crush on Adrien." She walked around her chaise and picked up the framed picture off her desk. Adrien knew who she was, too. Cat Noir had mentioned that several of her classmates had sent her texts. Had he been one of them?

"I think he likes you," Alya said. She pulled open a dresser drawer and started helping herself to Marinette's pajamas. "Just judging from how much he was flirting with you all day."

Marinette snorted. "That was really mild compared to what I normally have to deal with."

"Oh, girl, then he must really like you, teasing or not."

She used the picture of Adrien she was still holding to wave Alya's comment off. "He just flirts like that all the time, and not just with me."

"Okay, well you know him better than I do," she said, sounding completely unconvinced. She made her way to the bathroom, and Marinette was sure that wasn't going to be the end of their discussion about it. Just before she shut the door, she added, "I have it on good authority that Adrien's got a lot of Ladybug posters in his room. Can't wait to see him tomorrow. Can you?"

Marinette's heart fluttered at the thought. She'd been trying to get his attention all year. Maybe she finally had it. As for Cat Noir's attention, he didn't mean it personally, so she wasn't going to take it personally. _Though,_ she thought as she changed and climbed into bed, waiting for Alya to reemerge, _I wonder why he didn't try flirting with Alya today._

* * *

Downstairs, Cat Noir was not eavesdropping. He wasn't. Really. He was talking with Marinette's parents and having a nice conversation and trying to ignore the fact that he thought he'd heard both of his names whispered several times.

"It's been an honor to help," he said, after they thanked him for everything, again. "I just wish it'd been me this time instead of her. I mean, I've always wanted to know, but..." She'd been so upset. "I think I'd have rather gone on forever without knowing if I could have spared her this." He'd always been the one who was okay with a reveal. It should have been him.

To his surprise, Tom and Sabine stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug. He stayed until the girls stopped whispering.

* * *

 _Author note: There was something bothering me about this whole chapter, but I didn't figure out what it was until I was almost done with it. Heavy sigh. Too late to go back and fix it now. You know, in my notes what are now chapters three, four, and five were supposed to all be one chapter. Ha. I'm bad at estimating how long things are going to be, which means this is going to be way more than the eight or nine chapters I had originally thought. I might end up splitting the next chapter like I did for chapter three, but if I don't, it'll probably be a bit longer until the next update. You've been warned. (And everyone wish Marinette luck on the math final she totally forgot about!) Thank you all for the love for this story! You make me happy inside!_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Marinette spent a few seconds drifting in and out of sleep. Or maybe it was minutes. Something was buzzing. Was it a bug? She rolled and pulled the blanket over her head. The bug could show itself out, because she didn't want to be bothered right now.

"Girl!"

Something soft fwumped against her head. Marinette moaned pitifully.

"Your phone's blowing up."

Marinette peeked out from under the covers only to find Alya waving a small screen an inch from her nose. The light was blinding, so she hid, burrowing deeper under the warm covers. She didn't want to face her text messages. Or school. Or the world. Ladybugs hibernated, right? She just wanted to sleep until the nightmare reveal went away.

The phone buzzed again. "Oh, look. This one's from your boyfriend."

"Cat Noir is not my boyfriend!" she said, throwing off the covers and pillow Alya had hit her with and then snatching the phone away.

"Then how'd you know who I was talking about?" Alya was standing on the ladder, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the mattress. She looked completely unashamed as Marinette sleepily tried to glare at her. She probably didn't look very intimidating while lying down, sporting bedhead and pink pajamas.

"I'm not going to check them while you're staring at me."

"Fine. I call dibs on the bathroom." She took her sweet time ambling across the room, but Marinette didn't unlock the phone until she heard the door click shut.

Most of the texts were from Cat Noir.

Cat Noir – 7:00 – Good morning, beautiful! ;) I'm texting you from my baton!

Cat Noir – 7:00 – This is your partner, by the way.

Cat Noir – 7:01 – Are you up yet?

Cat Noir – 7:03 – You're going to be late, Princess. 3

Cat Noir – 7:04 – You don't need the beauty sleep, My Lady. Believe me.

Cat Noir – 7:08 – Do I need to come in there and paw at your face until you get up? Because I will.

Cat Noir – 7:09 – I'm not hearing a no, so...

"Why are you like this?!" she yelled to no one. She had been right from the start. Him having her number was a bad idea. He'd probably start texting her from his civilian phone now, and she'd never get rid of him. She groaned. It was too early in the morning to think about this.

Marinette – 7:10 – How did you get my number?!

Cat Noir – 7:10 – Magic! :) Good morning!

So it turned out her kitty was a morning person. Or maybe he was just excited. She was neither of those things right now.

Marinette – 7:11 – Hi.

She spent the next several minutes waiting for Alya by alternately getting ready and finally reading yesterday's messages. While they were all encouraging, they only made her more nervous. She'd be seeing all her classmates soon, and she didn't want the reminder. Adrien hadn't sent her anything, she noticed with a pang of disappointment. Maybe he figured she was getting a lot of texts and didn't want to overwhelm her.

Cat Noir sent her another text as Alya made her way out of the bathroom, and she took no time reading over Marinette's shoulder.

Cat Noir – 7:22 – I can't wait to see you later! :D

"I don't care what anyone says, that boy has a huge crush on you," Alya said. Marinette felt a comforting weight as Alya let her head rest on her shoulder, while the edge of her glasses poked Marinette's cheek. "You just watch how he acts today."

"So why wasn't he bothered by all my pictures then?" she asked as she sent him a message back.

Marinette – 7:23 – Dork. :)

Alya hummed as she thought about it. "Maybe he doesn't see Adrien as a serious threat."

"Well, that's good," Marinette said. "He's the least threatening person I know." She gathered up her clothes and shuffled her way to the bathroom, dragging her feet as much as she could. The smooth wood was cool against her bare toes.

"No, you know what I mean. He thinks Adrien's not strong competition. Too bad for him, right?"

Marinette shrugged and closed the bathroom door. Staring at herself in the mirror and running her fingers through her loose hair, she had only one thought. She hoped Alya was wrong, because she didn't want to see Cat Noir get hurt, especially because of her.

Marinette got ready for school in record time, even though she had honestly tried to take as long as possible to delay the inevitable. She reentered her bedroom to find that Alya had already gone downstairs. She pulled a few cookies from her stash, packed them into her purse, let Tikki slip in, and then focused on packing her backpack, not that she'd need much for finals. Ugh, finals! She hadn't studied at all yesterday. It was going to be awful. Just as she was closing her bag, her phone buzzed again.

Cat Noir – 7:44 – There's a bunch of reporters on your doorstep. Do you want me to take you to school?

Marinette walked over to the window. The angle was all wrong for her to see the street, but she could hear. Sunlight poured through the panes, and with it came the sounds of cars and foot traffic, and the low chatter of people. She didn't have Cat Noir's hearing, so it must have been a decent crowd if her ordinary ears were able to catch it three stories up.

She was sorely tempted by his offer. On one hand, she wanted to avoid confirming she was Ladybug by being seen with him, but on the other hand, there probably wasn't anything left to deny, and her desire to avoid the press was mounting. _Or I could just transform and get around them that way._

Her eyes drifted down at the purse hanging on her hip and heard crunching, followed by the faint smell of chocolate chip cookies as Tikki built up her energy for the day. No. This was her new normal, and she would have to just grin and bear it. It was an image thing, like Cat Noir had said. She needed to face this challenge head on. If there was no escaping it, she may as well get it over with.

Marinette – 7:45 – No thanks, Kitty. They'll just find me somewhere else.

As soon as she opened the trapdoor and started down the stairs, she heard the report on the television go silent.

"What were they saying about me?" she asked.

Her parents avoided the question by giving her a large breakfast. "You have finals, Marinette, and you barely touched your dinner last night."

Somehow, all too soon, it was time to leave. She turned down her parents' offer to walk with her to school, so instead they wished her luck and gave her extra big hugs. She adjusted the backpack across her shoulders. _I can do this._ Alya followed her as she marched to the front door. _I can do this._ She reached for the handle. _I absolutely can do this._

Someone outside knocked on the door.

"Alya, I can't do this!" she wailed. Why had she ever thought that she could? "I should have taken Cat's offer!"

"Hey!" Alya strode in front of her and gripped her shoulders tightly. "You and Cat Noir are a great team, but you and I make a great team, too! Do you think I'm going to let you face this alone?" She waited until Marinette shook her head. "You can do it, girl! You've got this! And I'm going to be right here with you every step of the way, so you open that door and let everyone see that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is amazing with or without superpowers!" She stepped aside, giving Marinette a clear path to the door. She drew a shaky breath and reached for the knob. It turned easily, and the door swung inward effortlessly.

Dozens of voices called for her as she blinked in the morning light. People pressed as close to her as they could without actually stepping inside uninvited. Microphones were held out to her. Cameras clicked and flashed.

"Marinette!"

"Ladybug!"

"Is it true?"

"Are those earrings you're wearing now your miraculous?"

Marinette stared through all of them. _Imagine you're hiding behind the mask,_ she told herself. Ladybug knew how to handle reporters. She dealt with them all the time. She pushed herself forward and watched as the crowd parted before her, giving her space to step into the warm sunshine. Alya followed a second after, shutting the front door and throwing a protective arm over her shoulders.

"What are you going to do now that your secret identity has been revealed? Will you retire?"

"Where is Cat Noir?"

"What were your feelings when the announcement was made?"

"Ladybug, over here!"

"Why haven't you purified the akuma yet?"

"How do your parents feel about this?"

Reporters pooled in behind them, blocking their retreat, but when she moved forward again they didn't step aside for her. Well, if they were going to make her push her way past them, then that's what she would do.

"No comment," she said as she began squeezing in between cameras and microphones. Alya less tactfully stuck out her elbows in an attempt to preserve her personal bubble. "Pardon me. No comment. No comment. Excuse me, please. I have to get to class."

The school loomed above her, seeming impossibly distant even though it was only across the street.

Ivan's head suddenly bobbed into view, and the reporters scrambled to get out of the way as he barreled through them. "She said she has to get to class," he said. "Move." Marinette tried to suppress a smile when she saw the looks of shock on their faces.

"Hey, Ivan," Alya said. "Mind if we walk with you?" She ushered Marinette into the space that Ivan's scowl and imposing height created.

A flash of black jumped across rooftops down the street, but by the time she'd turned to get a better look, the figure was gone. Her stomach swooped uncomfortably. That hadn't been Cat Noir. She was sure of it. He didn't move like that. Should she transform now and check it out? But Ivan started walking, and Alya's grip on Marinette tightened as she steered her to follow him toward the school. The cloud of reporters trailed after them.

Goosebumps prickled her forearms. Knowing the akuma was out there watching her was unnerving. Maybe she should just text Cat Noir and have him check it out. Huh. Maybe having his number was actually a good thing.

She was about to pull out her phone when she saw him bound into view and plop down on the school roof, feet and tail dangling over the edge. He waved cheerily at her, sunlight making his hair practically glow. Maybe it _had_ been him she'd seen. She hadn't gotten a very good look, after all. She waved back tentatively. When he waved back at her with both hands, she sighed loudly.

"Don't you have anyone else to stalk, Cat Noir?" she called up.

He placed a fist over his heart and closed his eyes. "But you're my favorite person-" Dramatic pause. "-to _bug._ "

Marinette threw up her hands and stomped across the street, leaving Alya and Ivan to jog after her. She didn't stop until she was in the shadow of the school building. When she looked up again, Cat Noir was doing handstands for the cameras.

"Show off!"

"You know you love me!" His laughter floated down to her, muffled a bit by the sounds of the city.

Secretly, she was relieved he was drawing attention away from her, and happy he was there at all. She'd have to thank him later. Speaking of thanking people...

"Ivan?" she asked. They were almost at the front steps, which looked far more crowded than normal.

Ivan didn't say anything, but she kept going. "Thank you for this."

"Well," he said, kicking a pebble. It bounced down the sidewalk. "Thank _you_ , I guess. I was the first one. Figured I should come."

"It was an honor to be able to help." They started climbing the crowded stairs, and she laid a hand on his arm. "Really."

The only benefit to having the steps thronged with people was that they were finally able to shake the swarm of reporters. Unfortunately, everyone here also wanted to gawk at her. Parents of students with younger siblings in tow, even more reporters, people pointing and whispering and calling to her, waving to get her attention, or trying to shake her hand as she passed by. Ivan and Alya kept close beside her, shielding her as much as possible, so she squared her shoulders and kept climbing until they reached the front door.

There were so many people on the stairs that she didn't realize Mr. Damocles was standing at the entrance until she heard him arguing with someone, saying things like "harassing my students" and "disrupting our learning environment." A group of students slipped in ahead of them and she finally got a good look at what was happening. The principal was turning away a very sad-looking gaggle of people with cameras and Ladybug hats and t-shirts. Marinette hid behind Ivan as the group turned and trudged down the stairs.

When she stepped through the door, Mr. Damocles smiled at her, but made no other sign that anyone extraordinary had passed him. Even though he was doing an A+ job of keeping out anyone who didn't belong, Marinette didn't feel much better in the shelter of the building. Students came up to her and asked for her autograph, some people stared, and she started to hyperventilate.

Alya did her best to steer them away from the more crowded hallways and field questions, while Marinette got her phone out and started texting.

Marinette – 8:15 – I can't do this! Everyone's staring at me!

Marinette – 8:15 – I'm going to fail my final!

She looked up to make sure she didn't walk into anyone and realized they'd already made it to their locker hallway. It was packed with people, so she buried her face in her phone again.

Cat Noir – 8:16 – No, you won't.

Marinette – 8:16 – All the little kids will see that Ladybug doesn't study for math, so they won't study either!

Marinette – 8:16 – I'm a terrible role model!

Marinette – 8:16 – I don't want the pressure of being LB 24/7!

Cat Noir – 8:16 – I like you both ways. You can be whoever you want to around me. No pressure.

Cat Noir – 8:16 – Or you can ditch your image and be a rebel like me. ;)

"What are you doing, girl?" Alya asked, warding off a group of younger students.

"I'm texting Cat Noir."

Marinette – 8:17 – Sure, a rebel whose worst offense was to invite himself over and eat all my cookies.

"You're texting a superhero. I think that's the coolest thing you've ever said. Tell him I say hi."

Cat Noir – 8:17 – Ho, ho, ho.

Marinette snorted at both of them. "It'd be a lot cooler if he weren't such a dork," she said as she forwarded the message. "He says hi back."

She caught sight of her locker, mostly obscured by a group of people. What she could see was covered in notes and big hearts with black dots on them.

Cat Noir – 8:18 – Civilian me's got to get to class. Want my real number? :D

She seriously considered it. He could get in contact with her whenever he needed to. It might be helpful if she could do the same.

Cat Noir – 8:18 – jk

Cat Noir – 8:18 – Don't want to make it too easy for you to figure me out.

Her fingers hovered over the screen, the text asking for his number unsent. He hadn't been joking. He probably just didn't want to get told no again. She debated for another second, and then started her message over.

Marinette – 8:18 – I'm assuming we're about the same age, so good luck on your finals!

Cat Noir – 8:19 – Thanks. You too. I'm actually a few months older than you. :D

Marinette – 8:19 – What?! :(

She shoved her phone back in the purse and zeroed in on her locker. Everyone who was waiting around for her finally saw her. A few of them surged forward and started greeting her. After a lot of sidestepping and waving and saying hi to people whose names she didn't know but probably should have, she finally made it to her locker, but none of her admirers took it as a sign that they should give her some space. The locker was covered in about two or three dozen notes. Some of them were obviously thank you cards. A few were covered in hearts and were obviously love poems. Yikes.

Alix suddenly appeared at her side. "Back off, you vultures!" she said, her pink, pointy hair and loud voice drawing attention. "Don't you have classes to get to? Go on!" They backed up, and a few people on the edges of the group started to slink down the hallway. Most of them just started looking back and forth between Alix and Marinette.

Marinette was trying to ignore everyone. She had a crazy amount of pictures of Adrien on the inside of the locker door, and she suddenly didn't want anyone to see them. She hadn't ever had a problem before with flashing the whole school with the contents of her locker, but now that everyone was staring, and this was the inside of Ladybug's locker, it made her extremely self-conscious. Was there anything in there she really needed? Maybe they should just go to class and forget the locker.

And then Max showed up and started talking to Ivan. And Rose and Juleka, who were deep in conversation about plans for the summer, just happened to stop between Marinette and her admirers. Alya and Alix got the hint, and soon Marinette was protected by a semi-circle of her classmates.

She quickly opened the door only to find a dozen folded pieces of paper spill out around her feet. Sighing, she went to pick them up, but she stopped mid-crouch. Her pictures of Adrien were gone. Every single one.

She gathered the notes quickly and shoved them on the top shelf, then started to gather her stuff, heart hammering. They must have been knocked down when the notes were shoved in. That must have been it.

"Where'd your pictures go?" Alya asked. She'd slipped away from the class shield and leaned in to be heard over the bustle of the hallway.

Marinette wanted to say that they probably fell, but she couldn't. Someone had been in there, and she was sure she knew who. But why would the akuma do that? The crowd around her suddenly felt very constricting. She should have gotten Cat's number. She needed to let him know about this, and now she couldn't.

Alya watched as Marinette mechanically shuffled her school things around and didn't ask again. "Speaking of Adrien, he could probably give you pointers."

"About?" Marinette closed her locker and started to walk to class. Her friends just happened to think that right then was a perfect time to go to class as well, and her shield reformed around her as she walked. Should she just transform now and find the akuma woman? How many times had that thought crossed her mind this morning, three? That was either a sign that she really should go or that she really wanted to skip her test.

"For accepting admiration with grace, of course. You should ask for some one-on-one training."

Marinette blushed.

For the first time in a long time, she got to Ms. Mendeleiev's class early. _I should start doing that more often._ Being a good role model probably included not being late for school every day. The thought made her tired.

Her bodyguards took up positions around the door, but it didn't keep people from peeking in the windows, so Marinette propped up a notebook on her desk and hid behind it.

One by one, the rest of the class trickled into the room. Nino saved her from Chloe's invitation to switch seats with Sabrina by striking up the most normal conversation she'd had in two days.

"You ready for the final, Marinette?"

"Not really," she said, relieved. "I'm pretty nervous about it."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." He leaned back in his seat, totally relaxed. "Just think, summer freedom is almost here."

Nino started talking about his plans for the break, but she stopped listening as the door swung open again and Adrien stepped in. His eyes found her immediately, and they both turned pink as he floated over to her.

Marinette jumped out of her seat, then realized running over to talk to him would probably be weird. She settled for shuffling her feet nervously.

"Uh," he started eloquently. "Good luck on your test. Not that you'll need it." She'd never seen him so flustered before. He was having trouble even looking her in the eye. Why was he so adorable like this?

"Thanks. G-good luck you- uh, to you, too."

"I need some of your luck. I- I mean, the whole city does, because you're Ladybug, and ladybugs have good luck, and-" His face was getting redder every extra second he babbled, until he finally gave up. "That sounded better in my head. I'll just shut up now." He took his seat and slumped forward as Marinette tried not to giggle in delight. Who was making who nervous now? Nino patted Adrien on the shoulder in sympathy.

Before taking her seat, she reached forward and ruffled Adrien's hair. It was softer than she had imagined. "There," she said. "I rubbed some of my good luck off on you."

He had stiffened at her touch and was only able to mumble, "Thanks." The tips of his ears were bright red. Alya gave her a thumbs up and a smirk as Marinette sat back down. Her fingers were still tingling.

"So do you and Cat Noir spend a lot of time together out of the masks?" Rose asked. Her question drew the attention of the rest of the class. "He seems like he'd be fun to hang out with."

"No, never," she said.

Adrien chuckled quietly, though she wasn't sure why.

"I don't even know his real name."

Her classmates had a lot to say about that.

"Really?" Rose asked.

"I was so sure you two were a thing," Chloe said.

"Huh, I always thought you both knew," Nino said.

"Why does everyone think that?" she said. "We've said we didn't know in interviews a bunch of times."

"I always assumed you were lying," Alix said. A few people nodded in agreement.

"Well, thank you so much for trusting my honesty."

"You haven't exactly been honest, girl."

Marinette opened her mouth to reply, but Adrien beat her to it. "Lies to protect secret identities shouldn't count."

"See. There. I'm not a liar. Thank you, Adrien."

"You're welcome."

 _I'm going to ask you out,_ Marinette thought, smiling at him. _I really am going to this time._

Kim was the last student to arrive. "So was I the hardest akuma to defeat or what?" he asked, sauntering up to her. "I bet I was the best one." He leaned against her desk, big smile on his face.

"Sorry, Kim," she said. "You were one of the easiest ones." He grumbled and took his seat. "If it makes you feel any better, you had one of the cooler costumes." She looked up at the clock. Class would be starting in a few minutes. Cat Noir was probably in his own classroom by now. What a strange thought. Cat Noir doing normal things.

"Who was the most difficult?" Nathanael asked.

"Maybe Pixelator," she said. She didn't want to name anyone in the class. She didn't want to make anyone feel guilty. "By the end, I couldn't use an arm and leg, and he'd somehow managed to catch Cat twice, so I was partner-less for a lot of it. It was almost impossible without him." It was weird to talk about Cat Noir so openly like that. "But everything went back to normal as soon as I cleansed the akuma."

Wait.

Wait a minute.

Could it really be that easy?

"Marinette? Marinette!"

"What?" She hadn't realized she'd gotten so lost in thought. It took her a second to refocus on Alya.

"I asked you how you were planning on catching this akuma."

"I don't know, but when I cleanse it-"

Adrien completed her thought, voice soft. "Everything goes back to normal. Would that work?" He stared at her, unblinking. She could have sworn he looked a little nervous.

"Would what work?" Alya asked.

"I don't know," she said, ignoring Alya to answer Adrien. "It's never changed civilians' memories before, but they've never been affected like this before."

"No way!" Alya said. "If I lose my memory about all this, you'll tell me who you are, right?"

Marinette didn't answer.

"Right?!"

"Would Cat Noir and Hawk Moth forget, too?" Adrien asked, even more quietly. He was starting to look pale, and she was concerned for him. Was he feeling sick?

"I'm not sure," she said. "Magic sometimes affects us differently. And it might not make anyone forget anyway." Everyone forgetting would be great. Hawk Moth forgetting would be amazing. But a terrifying thought bubbled up through the hope that she'd found. If Cat Noir thought he would forget, would he still help her defeat the akuma?

As the bell rang, Ms. Mendeleiev finally made her appearance. "Everyone, take your seats," she said. Shoes scuffled and seats scraped as everyone who was bunched around Marinette sat down. Adrien turned to face the front of the room, and Marinette tried not to be disappointed. They'd been talking! She hadn't been stuttering, even. That must have been the secret. Talk about akumas while she was half-stunned by amazing revelations.

"Marinette," Ms. Mendeleiev said.

Ah! Had she been zoning out again? What had she missed? "Yes?" she squeaked.

"It's nice to see you on time for once."

Marinette nodded sheepishly.

Ms. Mendeleiev wasn't finished. "Thank you, and please send my thanks along to Cat Noir."

"I will."

"Now," she said. "Excitement aside, it's time for everyone to clear their desks."

Tests were handed out, students started to sweat, and Marinette's feeble focus was broken in the first five minutes of the exam by a face that appeared in the hallway window. One of the younger students waved at her to get her attention, but she pretended not to see him until Ms. Mendeleiev opened the door and yelled at him to go back to class. She should have expected this to happen, honestly. Why would she get a break just because class started? And why did this school even have giant windows that led to the hallway, anyway?

This happened repeatedly over the next 20 minutes, when Adrien walked up to Ms. Mendeleiev and asked for some scrap paper. Marinette watched him intently. Why was he taking a whole stack? Ms. Mendeleiev looked confused as well, but she didn't stay anything. He caught Marinette staring at him when he turned around, and he flashed her a beautiful smile and a thumbs up.

He scribbled furiously on the paper for a few minutes, and despite Marinette's subtle (she hoped) attempts to see what he was doing, she couldn't catch a glimpse before he walked back up to the front of the room with his stack to show the teacher.

"Good idea," Ms. Mendeleiev said, taking the papers from him. "Leave it to me."

Adrien turned and caught Marinette looking again, but she couldn't find it in herself to be too embarrassed. He smiled at her all the way back to his seat. Marinette's insides went gooey.

Ms. Mendeleiev busied herself by taping Adrien's papers over the large hallway windows. What had he written on them?

The rest of the exam was uneventful, except for one minor incident about halfway through. Marinette dug out her phone and sent Cat Noir a quick text when Ms. Mendeleiev started scolding Chloe for trying to peek at Sabrina's answers.

Marinette – 9:25 – I just saw someone all in black streak past my classroom window. Please tell me that was you.

She never got a text back.

* * *

 _Author notes: Sorry about the old school emojis. I don't know how to type the new ones on here. Before you say anything, yes, I know no one except me texts with proper grammar and punctuation. I had them write full sentences here just for clarity._

 _Also, Miracurefladyblog is my new favorite thing. It's a reference tumblr for Miraculous fic writers and artists, and it's already proving helpful. Though, according to them, it looks like there's no bathroom attached to her bedroom. I somehow thought there was, but it may just be because I've read/seen the "Double Jeu" fic/comic. Alas._

 _To my first guest reviewer: I did break the chapter up after all. You're still getting the same story, though! Literally nothing in my outline changed except the words "chapter break." You're just getting the first part of the chapter faster._

 _To my second guest reviewer: I may go back and fix it eventually, but for now, I'm learning from my mistakes and moving forward!_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

When school finally let out for the day, Alya spent no time making sure Marinette got her one-on-one tutor session. "Hey, Adrien!" she said. "I need a favor." She threw a glance to Marinette, who froze immediately. She knew Alya's "evil scheming voice" when she heard it, which was often.

"What is it?"

"Marinette here-" Alya patted her on the head. Yup. She knew where this was going. "-is feeling overwhelmed with all the attention and could use a few pointers on dealing with fans. Think you could help us out?"

"Absolutely!" he said.

"Great! Well, I've got this big babysitting thing I have to do, so see you later, Marinette. Love you! Bye!" She caught Nino by the arm and dragged him away before he could protest. She took all of Marinette's composure with her.

 _Be normal,_ she reminded herself. _He knows you're Ladybug, so he'll know that it's Ladybug acting weird around him._ Of course, this was when she finally realized she'd been staring at him for almost a full minute. She'd already messed up. _Way to go, Marinette!_

"So..." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Advice!" she said, gathering up her things as quickly as possible. "I'd love some."

Their classmates shuffled past them. A few said goodbye to them in the rush to get out of the stuffy classroom. They only had two finals to go before the end of the year, and no one wanted to stay in the school longer than exactly necessary, except for Chloe and Sabrina, who seemed to be arguing over something. The two of them started to drift toward the door. Should she stand closer to him? Was she already standing too close?

"Okay, I guess the first lesson is-"

"MARIKINS!" Chloe strode toward them, arms outstretched. Sabrina was still standing next to their desk, abandoned.

"First lesson is how to avoid Chloe," he whispered.

He grabbed her hand, and they dashed through the door and down the corridor. Marinette had just enough time to see what Adrien had written on the scrap paper. Each one had an adorably bad picture of a ladybug and a smiley face, followed by the caption, "Now you can tell everyone you saw a ladybug. Go back to class."

 _Poor Cat Noir,_ she thought as they continued to sprint to her locker. _He can be cute sometimes, but he has no chance against Adrien._

Chloe's voice had died out behind them when they finally stopped running, but they kept walking at a quick pace. It seemed to deter the few students who hadn't already escaped the building. Her fingers were tingling where they touched his. Unfortunately, just then he realized he'd grabbed her and suddenly let go, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, so second rule is don't let it go to your head- well, uh, not that I think you'd be awful like that, I'm just saying in general. You know what? Just forget that one."

"No, I get it," she said. She'd had to deal with some of that already, that feeling of self-importance that comes with power, fame, and attention.

She was bathing in Adrien's undivided attention after craving it for so long, but it suddenly bothered her. How was this different from what everyone else was doing? Was he being helpful because that was just who he was, or just because of who she was? _Or am I just being a bad friend for questioning his motives like this?_

"Third." He put a hand on her shoulder and gently guided her down the hallway, and her heart sped up. "Never google yourself. Just don't." He listed a few others, all of which were sound advice.

"Try to be nice to the press. Most of the time they just want to get their story and go home as fast as possible. It's not personal."

"Cat Noir told me almost the same thing," she said. "That one's mine." She pointed to her locker, which was halfway down the hall and mercifully abandoned this time.

"Oh, right," he said. "I mean, right? It's a good tip, right?" He laughed nervously.

"Yeah, he has some good ideas, but don't tell him I said that." They stopped in front of the locker, and Marinette glared at the door for a few seconds. Now that the surprise had worn off, she realized she wasn't really afraid of the akuma woman's intentions. She was mostly just mad. She undid the lock and opened the door to find a few more notes from admirers, but no pictures.

"Is everything okay?" Adrien asked.

She continued to frown as she gathered up everything she would need to prepare for the next final, but she left the notes in her locker. She'd deal with those later.

Adrien hovered next to her anxiously. "What's wrong, My- arinette?"

Her mood suddenly brightened. My Marinette? Was that what he'd been about to say? She didn't care about the reason why he was giving her attention. Having it was definitely a good thing. She was definitely going to ask him out.

"Nothing's wrong," she finally said as she closed the door and turned to face him. "I just have to talk to Cat Noir about something. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay," he said. His eyes were still squinted with concern, but he didn't press her for an explanation. Adrien gave her a few more pointers as they walked out of the building together.

"And don't take criticism personally," he said as he held the door open for her. The heat of summer was tempered by a light breeze. The only good thing about finals was that they got out of school much earlier than normal. There would be fewer people out on the streets this time of day, but she was still unsurprised to see camera crews waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Good news. She'd get to use the advice Adrien had given her right away. Yay.

He waited off to the side as Marinette quickly told the reporters that this akuma was nothing to worry about, and she appreciated all the support she was getting from so many people, and she was sorry, but she really had to get going. By the time she had finished and made her way back over to him, a sleek limo had pulled up to the curb.

Well, it was too late to ask him out today. The nagging doubt came back and told her it was probably for the best. What if he was only interested in her because she was Ladybug, just like Cat Noir and all the rest of Paris?

Adrien pulled open the limo door, and the cool, conditioned air started to creep around her legs. She hadn't realized she'd gotten that close to the car.

"Did you want a ride?" he asked.

"Oh, n-no! It's okay," she said quickly, stepping backward. Was he being nice only because she was Ladybug?

"Are you sure? It's no trouble." He nodded toward the reporters, who were picking up their cameras. The streets were relatively empty.

"I should walk," she said. "It's not far." She wanted to maintain as much normalcy as possible, and she needed to text Alya before she drove herself crazy. With one final reassurance that she was fine, he shut the door and disappeared.

Marinette took off down the street and pulled out her phone.

Marinette – 12:10 – Thanks for abandoning me.

Alya – 12:10 – You're welcome. How did it go?

Marinette – 12:10 – What if Adrien only likes me because I'm Ladybug?

Alya – 12:11 – Oh, no.

Alya – 12:11 – He likes you because he finally realized you're brave and selfless.

Alya – 12:11 – What a nightmare.

She crossed the street, expecting to see Chantal again or at the very least someone waving at her from a car window, but neither happened.

Marinette – 12:12 – No, what if he only likes me because I'm famous?

Admitting it to someone else made her feel a little better. Her doubts suddenly felt hollow.

Alya – 12:12 – Seriously? He would have married Chloe by now if that's what he cared about. Stop it.

The bakery lights were out when she arrived home. Her parents had said they'd be taking a break until things died down. They definitely deserved one. She said a quick hello to them before heading upstairs. She needed to text Cat Noir about the locker thing immediately.

Tikki whispered from her purse as she raced up to her room. "I agree with Alya," she said.

"Are you reading my texts?" Marinette said as she pushed the trapdoor open. "I never should have told you my passcode."

Tikki flew out of the purse as the door slammed shut, but Marinette barely noticed her or the noise. Her pictures of Adrien were gone. Every single one. Tikki floated quietly beside her.

Marinette's eyes flitted around her room, taking in each and every empty space. This akuma had gone too far, way too far. Anxiety and anger warred in her stomach as she reached for her phone.

Marinette – 12:21 – SHE BROKE INTO MY ROOM!

"You need to make sure nothing else is missing," Tikki said.

Marinette jerked herself into motion, too upset to really take in much. She had been in here. The akuma had been in the same house as her parents while she was away. She wouldn't have been able to protect them. She wouldn't even have known until it was too late!

The minutes stretched out, and still there was no reply from Cat Noir. He wasn't transformed. She had no way of contacting him. If she had only gotten his phone number!

Tikki did her best to offer comfort, repeating things like, "It'll be all right, Marinette," and "Everything will be back to normal soon." But the kwami's normally soothing presence didn't fill the room's sudden emptiness.

* * *

 _Author note: The last chapter was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. This one was a lot shorter. I give up estimating._

 _Fun side note: Mon minou and mon chaton are common terms of endearment for your male significant other in France. Aw! Cat Noir 110% talks himself into believing this is how she means it. Don't try to tell me otherwise. (Did I find this out by googling things to call your boyfriend in French? Yes. Yes, I did.)_

 _Thank you for all the reviews and other love for my story! It totally makes my day every day!_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Marinette paced the room, ignoring Tikki's advice to make sure nothing else was missing, or go talk to her parents, or suit up and look around. She didn't want to know what else the woman had done to her room. She didn't want to tell her parents or Alya. She didn't want to waste her energy searching for the akuma. She'd turn up again soon enough. They all did.

"Will you at least stop pacing? You're only making yourself more nervous."

So Marinette sat down on the chaise and tucked her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around herself. She felt so isolated, but she'd really rather not make her parents worry any more than they already were. She'd just have to wait until Cat Noir got her message. They'd be able to think of a plan of action together.

"Should I let him tell me who he is?" she asked. Tikki swooped over and landed on Marinette's knee. "I mean, everyone already assumes that we know. So there's really no added danger if we actually know, right?" Her reasoning seemed weak. She knew she was only thinking this way because she was freaking out. She shouldn't be letting fear make decisions for her. This was selfish.

Tikki smiled gently, but her antennae twitched in excitement. "I think that's-"

There was a thud on the roof, and Marinette jumped up, ready to transform, but instead of a full-blown attack, there was only a quiet knock at her skylight. She looked up to see Cat Noir frowning with worry through the glass, his eyes already glancing around at every bit of room he could see. Marinette scrambled onto her bed to open the skylight and let him in, completely forgetting the conversation she'd been having with Tikki.

He dropped onto the bed beside her and wrapped her in a hug. "Are you all right? I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner. I came as fast as I could."

She was startled by his affection, but squeezed him back tightly anyway, letting his warmth seep into her skin. She hadn't realized how badly she needed a hug. "I'm okay. No one's hurt."

They stayed like that for a few more seconds before she finally loosened her grip. Cat Noir dropped his arms immediately, probably not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, your pictures are gone," he said, noticing her walls. They climbed down the ladder, and Marinette stared at her feet as he surveyed the damage. She didn't want to see the empty spaces anymore.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. He bumped her shoulder with his own, and she gave him a weak smile.

"I'm fine," she said. "It's not like I can't replace pictures. No harm done, really." She wasn't even convincing herself at this point. Cat Noir looked more concerned, not less, and she could see Tikki shaking her head as she floated by the mannequin.

He took one more look around the room and then smiled at her. "We'll get your pictures back. Until then, you'll just have to stare at my handsome face instead. Huh, huh?" He wiggled his mask-covered eyebrows at her and winked.

She started to giggle - more out of nerves than anything else, she told herself - and pushed his face away. "You're having too much fun with this." Still, laughing had felt nice.

"Seriously though, didn't you lock that skylight?"

"No, I come in and out that way all the time."

Tikki was still floating around the room. Marinette assumed she was looking for other missing items.

"Maybe you should set some traps then," he said. " _Home Alone_ style! You've already got sewing needles and rolling pins."

"Are you trying to make a pins and needles pun?" She was certain he was trying to be funny on purpose for her benefit. And she had to admit it was helping a little.

"No, but now that you mention it-"

"Marinette," Tikki said. She popped her head through the drawer of the vanity. "Your diary is missing."

"Oh, no." Marinette felt the blood drain from her face. She ran over and yanked the drawer open. The box that held her diary wasn't there, just makeup, scraps of paper, and the box her miraculous had come in. She searched the other drawers, hoping she just misplaced the diary, but it wasn't anywhere.

"Diary, huh?" Cat Noir asked, trying to keep the mood light. "Is it filled with juicy secrets about how much you love me?"

"You wish." _See?_ she thought. _He couldn't joke about it like this if he were serious, not when he knows I like someone else._

She slid the drawers closed slowly, so quietly they didn't make a sound. She was about to close the last one, the one that should have held her diary, when Cat Noir stopped her. "Wait. What's that?" He reached around her and plucked out one of the papers. It was folded neatly in half and had her name on the outside, in someone else's handwriting. He flipped it open. The inside simply read, "You're welcome."

"The text message," he said.

"What?"

"Remember I said there was a wrong number yesterday? It was the same message."

After a quick scramble for her cell and a quick search through her history, they found it again. "She has my phone number," Marinette whispered.

"But we also have hers," Cat Noir countered.

"He's right," Tikki said. She was still darting around the room, but nothing else seemed to be missing, to Marinette's relief. "Can the police track her down with the number?"

"They can if we call her," she said, dialing.

"Wait!" Cat Noir said. "They can't if we don't tell them about it!"

The call went immediately to voicemail, but she couldn't leave a message. Chantal's inbox was full. Marinette hung up and stared at the screen until it went black, her hand shaking slightly.

"This is a good thing," Cat Noir said. "This is a good thing. We know a lot more about her now."

"She broke into my locker, too," she said, still staring at the dark screen. School already felt so long ago. "Oh, my math teacher says thank you, by the way."

"Your locker? How do you know?"

"I had pictures in there, too." She flopped down on the chaise, only to get back up again a second later. Had the akuma woman sat there? Her whole room seemed contaminated by association somehow. "Ugh, I feel so... violated! I swear, she's doing this just to mess with me."

"So she got your identity, broke into your room and your locker." Cat Noir started counting on his fingers. "She stole pictures of your boyfriend."

Marinette picked up a pillow from the chaise and launched it as his head, but he dodged it, grinning broadly. It plopped harmlessly by the trapdoor behind him.

"She has your number and your diary. Anything else?"

Marinette's eyes darted up to where she hid Adrien's schedule. That wasn't there either, but she didn't say anything, and he didn't notice. She wouldn't be surprised if the desktop background was gone, as well.

"More, importantly," Tikki said, "how are these connected?"

 _Juicy secrets._

"That's what she wants," she said.

Cat Noir and Tikki leaned in closer to her. "What?" they asked together.

"She got my _secret_ identity. She didn't just break into my locker. She knows the combination, which I've never told anyone except Alya."

"Your phone number's not a secret," Cat Noir said.

"Not really, but I don't give it out to strangers. That's almost the same thing."

Tikki hovered in front of her, expression disapproving. "And you keep too much sensitive information in that diary," she said.

"Sorry."

"Okay," Cat Noir said, "but why? What could the akuma be hiding in?"

"It's obvious why Hawk Moth picked Chantal now," Tikki said.

Marinette was only half listening. Her panic was rising again. There was another secret the woman took.

"She knows I love Adrien."

"W-What?" Cat Noir stuttered.

"What if she uses the fact that I'm in love with Adrien against me somehow? That was a secret, too. That's why she took the pictures. What if she hurts him? Stop it, Cat! This is serious!"

She could only describe the smile that crossed his face as "sappy." His head even tilted dreamily to the side a little bit. "Can I tell you who I am, please?"

 _What is with him?_ "No. Your secret identity is still safe because I didn't know. Absolutely not."

His smile disappeared and his shoulders slumped, but her resolve strengthened. It really was safer this way, and she couldn't put him in danger for her own selfish reasons. She wouldn't even ask for his number either, and that was that.

"Don't worry about Adrien, Princess," Cat Noir said with a sigh. "I live close by. I'll keep an eye on him for you."

"Thank you," she said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "He means a lot to me."

Cat Noir nodded and then looked at the trapdoor. "Your parents are coming up," he said, just before they knocked. He pulled up the door for them as Tikki dove for cover.

"We come bearing gifts!" Tom said. He held a tray full of food, far more than Marinette could eat by herself. "We figured you were already here, Cat Noir, so we brought extra," he explained.

"How were your finals?" Sabine asked. She glanced between both of them, making sure Cat Noir knew he was included in the question.

They didn't come all the way into her room, instead opting to lean in through the trapdoor, resting their elbows on the floor while they watched the teenagers eat. Marinette was hungry for the first time in two days, so she let Cat Noir do most of the talking. She couldn't tell if he was enjoying the food or her parents' attention more. At least he had stopped moping.

Marinette settled down on the floor by the trapdoor, trying to block as much of the room from her parents' view as she could. They hadn't noticed the pictures were gone yet, and she wanted to keep it that way. Cat Noir alternately filled his mouth and filled her parents in on their morning, how she had valiantly fought off reporters, and how he had very heroically helped distract them.

"Those reporters needed to learn some manners," he said. "They weren't very well _bread._ "

Marinette rolled her eyes as he laughed at his own terrible joke. She suspected she was going to start hearing bad baking puns almost as often as bad cat puns.

He even talked about his day at school, though she noticed that he kept it generic, not even mentioning what subjects he had been tested on. Her parents asked more questions, but never anything specific. Cat Noir was immensely enjoying himself, and by the time the trapdoor closed again, he was in a very good mood.

They stayed seated on the floor, the platter still in between them. Her parents' footsteps had disappeared when Tikki came out of hiding to grab a cookie.

"You know," Cat Noir said, ripping off a bit of croissant and popping it into his mouth. "I'd marry you right now just to have your parents as in-laws."

 _He's joking._

"Wow," Marinette said. "And here I thought all that flirting was because you liked me."

"Being married to you would be a nice bonus. Almost as amazing as this croissant."

The chaise pillow was still on the floor where it had fallen, so she grabbed it and swung it at him again, laughing. This time it connected, and he yelped and fumbled for the rest of his pastry as it fell to the floor.

"I guess that makes not finishing that croissant as bad as a breakup, huh?" she asked, using her hands to sweep up the crumbs.

"At least I'm not tossing my _cookies_."

She made her way over to the trash with her eyes down. If they didn't have this akuma cleansed by that night, she decided, she'd get new pictures, just to fill up the awful spaces. The thought of cleansing the akuma reminded her of another issue. There was a possibility that Cat Noir would forget who she was, but he was obviously happy to finally have that information. Should she tell him what might happen? Would he still help her cleanse the akuma if he knew? She wanted to tell herself that of course he would, that this was his job, and Cat Noir would always help her. But... would he?

She was spared from making the decision by a text message from Alya.

Alya – 1:15 – I just got a report that someone dressed in black is on the roof of Dauphine University. Looks like a woman.

"She's been spotted," Marinette said.

Cat Noir jumped to his feet, hands clasped in front of him. "I'm so proud of you!"

"What?"

" _Spotted._ "

Marinette glared at him. "She was seen on Dauphine's roof just a minute ago, and you're obviously a terrible influence on me."

Cat Noir gave a deep bow. "I'll take full credit for teaching you the fine art of punning, My Lady."

She shook her head and went back to her phone.

Marinette – 1:16 – Thanks. I thought you said you were "babysitting."

Alya – 1:16 – I had to keep Nino from interrupting you guys. It was practically babysitting.

Alya – 1:16 – He kept saying his "bro" needed his "wingman." Forwarding you the address.

Marinette – 1:16 – You're the best.

She sent the location with the message "I know." Marinette pocketed the phone and then looked at her waiting partner.

"Are you ready to _roll_?" he asked. He seemed to realize at the same moment she did that she needed to transform. Both of them froze, eyes on each other. Tikki floated up in between them and waited for Marinette's decision. Cat Noir cleared his throat. "Do you want me to leave or..."

Instead of answering him, Marinette said, "Tikki, spots on." She kept her eyes on him, watching his awed face through the haze of pink light.

His eyes grew even wider as the light faded and Ladybug stood in front of him. "Wow," he whispered. "It looks even cooler than I thought it would. Hey, do you want to see me transform?"

"Not today, Kitty. Ready to go?" she asked, climbing up to the skylight.

" _Dauphine_ -itely." But he stayed where he was, staring up at her. "I feel kind of stupid," he finally said. "It's so obvious now. I can't believe I didn't figure it out."

"Well," she said, propping the skylight open, "you only saw me as a civilian a few times. It's understandable."

"Uh, right. Yeah."

Ladybug disappeared onto the roof. Cat Noir took a croissant for the road.

* * *

 _Author notes: Happy birthday to me! I'm giving you all a present, called Chapter Eight. :D_

 _I was actually hoping to be finished this story by now. Why? Because I participate in National Novel Writing Month every year, but I'm committed to keeping sort of regular updates, so now I'll be trying to write two things at once. Wish me luck! Things will be quieter here over the next few weeks until November is done. I'm hoping to update every other week, but I really don't know what's going to be possible. I'll do my best, though!_

 _Thank you again for reading!_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Dauphine University was a very good school a few arrondissements away, which gave plenty of time for Cat Noir to try to sell his terrible ideas to Ladybug.

"I bet I can lure her in," he yelled over the wind. "I am quite a _cat_ ch, after all."

Ladybug's pigtails whipped behind her as she swung and gracefully landed on a roof, already looking for the next anchor to latch onto. "I hate this identity bait idea," she said for what felt like the hundredth time. Ignoring the punny flirt was probably the best course of action.

He dropped in next to her. "We don't have many options. This will get her attention, and you know it."

The terrible part was that she _did_ know it. This would be the most efficient. But curse him for being right.

"I promise I'll be careful." He smiled, then extended his staff and vaulted ahead of her. She angrily threw her yoyo, catching it on a balcony railing. She followed him at a distance, wondering, yet again, if she should tell him what might happen to his memories.

The rush of high-speed yoyo travel was usually thrilling, but today it wasn't enough to make her mind shut up. Would he help her if he knew? It was kind of like lying if she kept the truth from him. Would it be cruel of her to make him choose? But really, she wasn't even sure what would happen, so she might be worrying nothing. By the time she had caught up to him, she'd finally decided not to say anything.

Cat Noir was standing on a narrow peaked roof, one hand on the chimney for balance. In the other, he had his baton's screen pulled open.

"I hope you're not texting my cell again," she said as she landed. "It's not going to go through."

"Just making sure we're still going the right way."

"What?" She elbowed his side. "Don't want to stop and ask for directions?" Though, the thought of texting gave her an idea.

Ladybug – 1:22 – Hey, this is LB. Texting from the yoyo. Can you get some info for me? Chantal's got a thing against secrets. Think you could find out what her boyfriend was hiding from her?

When she looked back up, she jumped at seeing Cat Noir's face hovering next to hers. He'd leaned in to read over her shoulder, and he was so close that she could smell cheese on him. "We both know you can see from farther away than that," she said. Neither of them moved until Alya's message came in.

Alya – 1:23 – LADYBUG'S TEXTING ME! K;LAJKD KD WLKEGN!

Ladybug – 1:23 – Yeah, it's still just me.

Alya – 1:23 – I HAVE THE NUMBER OF A MAGICAL YOYO AS A CONTACT IN MY PHONE!

Cat Noir started to laugh, and Ladybug tried to sigh in frustration, but it didn't have the right effect. Smiling at her friends kind of ruined it.

Ladybug – 1:23 – Can you help? We need to hurry.

She glanced in the vague direction of the school. The sky was clear, and the sun was hot. Why would anyone just be sitting on a roof in this weather? They may have already missed their chance.

Alya – 1:24 – Absolutely! I've got a full battery and tons of questions!

Alya – 1:24 – One thing I have found out, Chantal is a HUGE Ladynoir shipper. lol

"Great," Ladybug said.

Ladybug – 1:24 – Thank you. Let me know immediately if you find something *important* out.

Closing the yoyo's screen, she searched for another anchor, making sure she was not looking at Cat Noir. She knew he'd seen Alya's last message. If she didn't acknowledge it, she hoped he wouldn't either. Her hope was vain.

"You know, it's always nice when we both have something in common with the victim."

"I am not a Ladynoir shipper." She threw her yoyo and took off, not bothering to ask him if she was heading in the right direction. The cold sting of the wind helped keep the heat off her face, but only a little.

"You are," he called out, keeping pace with her easily. "Deep down."

"NoTP!"

The buildings were short and close together, so they traveled on foot, leaping over gaps and dodging chimneys.

In under a minute, Cat Noir announced he could see the building. "It's that big gray one with the black windows," he said, pointing ahead of them as they ran. The roads were getting busier and wider.

Ladybug shaded her eyes, barely able to make it out in the distance. Dauphine didn't stick out above the other buildings very much, so it couldn't have been very tall. All she could really see was a wide, flat, gray thing. "See the akuma anywhere?" They jumped over another busy street. Just a few more buildings and they'd be there. "We need to pin her down before she fl- uh, runs off again."

Cat Noir tried to stifle his laughter. "Before she _fleas?_ "

"You have fleas!"

In three giant bounds, they were there, and Cat Noir was still laughing as they looked around. The roof was slick and mostly flat, aside from normal roof outcroppings, like chimneys and roof access doors. _She could be hiding behind any of those._ The tiles were black, and her feet were already starting to feel the heat through her suit. Hanging out here would be a terrible idea, except for the fact the building was slightly taller than the ones across the street, and surrounded by nothing but more streets and some trees on the other three sides. Her yoyo wouldn't be as useful for travel without something tall to latch onto. And it was out in the open, the perfect setup for an akuma, especially one so gifted at escaping.

The school itself was enormous, and it surrounded a large courtyard filled with students who called up to the heroes as soon as they saw them. Ladybug waved, and then slunk away from the edge. Chantal wasn't down there. The atmosphere on the roof seemed muted and calm. Cat Noir crouched in the middle, looking peaceful, but Ladybug's adrenaline surged when she saw his ears twitching and swiveling.

"Is she here?" she whispered.

His ears flicked in her direction, and he nodded, pointing to what looked like a very large central air unit diagonally across the courtyard. "I don't think she's here," he said loudly. He stood, but kept his eyes closed. "I can't _hear_ anything."

Ladybug poked his shoulder – much harder than necessary – to get his attention, and he cracked one eye open. She pointed, trying to explain her plan silently, trusting he'd understand. She'd swing around back, and he'd cross the courtyard? Cat Noir nodded, and they both took off. She dropped off the side of the building and hooked onto the top of the fire escape.

On her upswing, she saw Chantal crouching behind the unit, ready to pounce, just as Cat Noir landed on top and leaned forward to look down. Ladybug had just enough time to yell a warning before Chantal sprang, arms straight up. Cat Noir jumped backward. Black fingertips brushed the air inches away from his face. Ladybug landed and threw her yoyo again, narrowly missing Chantal's feet, but she arced over Cat Noir and took off across the roof.

"So close!" he yelled as he barreled after her. Ladybug wasn't sure if he was referring her own near miss or the akuma's. She reeled her yoyo in once again, frustrated. Why couldn't the woman stay put for five seconds?

Instead of taking her chance to escape, the woman in black turned suddenly and leapt, landing in Cat Noir's path. Ladybug watched as he stumbled to try to stop in time. He wasn't going to be able to.

Without thought, she threw the yoyo again. She didn't mean to trip her partner, but as he fell and rolled out of danger, the akuma lost her balance and missed him. Before Ladybug caught up to them, Cat Noir had untangled himself and Chantal had jumped away again.

"This is ridiculous!" Ladybug said. "We're too out in the open here!"

"We can't take the fight inside. Too many students."

"It's summer. One of these classrooms has got to be empty," she said.

Chantal was staring at them from a distance, weight shifting from side to side, ready to attack again. Ladybug spun her yoyo in anticipation.

Cat Noir cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "I know something you don't know!" The woman froze in a crouch, face angry. "And I'm not gonna tell you!"

They were standing close to the courtyard, and Ladybug chanced a look over the edge. The interior was long and narrow, and there were wide stairs leading down into the building. Perfect.

"Oh, the things I could tell you!" Cat Noir said. "Except I'm not going to!" He walked a little bit closer to her and put his baton away, making himself look like an easier target.

Using him like bait was making her insides squirm, and it wasn't even enough. Chantal was just watching and waiting for them to make a move. "I wish I could have kept my secrets!" Ladybug yelled. "Secrets are great!"

"Secrets are awful," Chantal finally called back. The dispassionate voice cracked slightly. "I'm helping you."

"What was your boyfriend keeping from you?" Cat Noir asked.

"Nothing."

"Isn't that girl-speak for 'something really important'?"

"Leave him out of this!" Her voice had started to shake.

It was working, but they needed to make her mad enough to follow them into a trap. "Why are you hiding things from us?" Ladybug asked, inching forward. "We're going to uncover all your secrets!"

"I bet he was hiding lots of things from you," Cat Noir said.

Chantal sprang.

Ladybug had barely enough time to throw herself at her partner and knock them both out of the woman's way. They plummeted over the edge, tumbling, until Cat Noir wrapped an arm around her waist and slowed their fall with this baton. As soon as their toes touched down, she grabbed his arm and raced down the steps. Screaming started behind them, but it sounded panicked, not hurt. The akuma had taken the bait.

Ladybug shoved Cat Noir forward, then took up a position hidden next to the doorway, yoyo ready. He looked back at her and nodded. He'd continue baiting her. She'd be the ambush.

"Over here!" he called. Chantal stepped through the doorway. The yoyo flew, red streaking toward black, and missed again. The akuma took off down the hallway. Cat Noir threw his baton, tripping her, but she rolled forward and up again in one fluid motion and didn't even slow down.

"Maybe this wasn't my best idea," Ladybug said. They chased her through pristine, empty hallways, and doors flashed past them. Within seconds they were lost.

"She can't go very fast in here," he said. "If she doesn't find a door outside, we just have to wait for her to wear out."

"That's a big if." Her lungs were already starting to burn, but Cat Noir said he could still hear her pounding footsteps ahead, so they kept going. Her yoyo started to beep. An incoming text message.

Alya – 1:37 – Coming as a great shock to absolutely no one, Anatole's skipped town.

Ladybug – 1:37 – Who?

Typing while running turned out to be difficult. She reached out a hand and grabbed Cat Noir's shoulder so she wouldn't run into a wall while she read the messages out loud to him.

Alya – 1:37 – The boyfriend. He ran away. No other reporter thought to interview the akuma's boyfriend's landlord, but I did! Nice guy, and he knows a ton of stuff!

Alya fired off a string of texts as they turned down twisting hallways. The akuma stayed a few steps ahead of them, barely out of sight.

Alya – 1:37 – There was a big fight at his place Saturday morning. They both sounded mad. She stormed off. He didn't hear what they were yelling about, though.

"Too bad," Ladybug added.

Alya – 1:37 – She was recently accepted at ParisTech. Starting as a freshman in the fall.

"Lucky!" Cat Noir said. It was one of the best universities in the country, about thirty kilometers south.

"Maybe that's why she was out here," Ladybug said between ragged breaths. "A school connection?"

Alya – 1:37 – The two of them have been dating for a year. Anatole asked his landlord about selling his lease and moving down there to be with her a couple times.

Alya – 1:37 – I have a theory, but I want to double check. I need to talk to her family again.

Ladybug – 1:37 – TY.

Alya – 1:37 – No prob. I'll text back in a few.

"No!" Cat Noir said. "Her footsteps changed. She's outside again!"

They put on a final burst of speed and crashed through the doors. The sudden sunlight made their eyes water. They had come out the front doors, and a short flight of stairs pointed straight to the busy street. "Do you see her?"

Chantal had probably run off again, but Ladybug put her back to his, just in case.

"I can't see anything," he said, covering his sensitive eyes. "Your radiant beauty has blinded me."

"There she is!" Chantal slipped back over the edge of the roof she'd peeked over as soon as Ladybug pointed at her. "Wait! We want to talk to you!" Not a complete lie. Talking to her was all they'd really accomplished so far. Ladybug swung herself across the street and up to the roof.

Cat Noir stumbled after her. She could tell his eyes were still streaming, but at least he could see again. "Yeah, small talk! What do you do when you're not an agent of evil? What's your akuma name?"

"I'm not like the other akumas," she said. "I'm helping you! I'm not ashamed to use my real name." She was a few roofs away from them, and she dropped into an alley. By the time they reached the spot, she had disappeared again.

"Chantal sounds sincere," Ladybug said.

"She's still annoying," Cat Noir muttered.

"Next time we get close to her, I'm calling Lucky Charm," she said. "We can't keep doing this."

"Until then, we'll just have to use our natural charm."

They took off, only to find her and then lose her again behind a building a few seconds later. When they landed to look around, a piece of a shadow broke off and hurled itself at Cat Noir. Ladybug barely had enough time to register that it wasn't a shadow and move to block the akuma. "Lucky-" Chantal had been aiming for Cat Noir's face, but got Ladybug's instead. There was no searing cold this time. She had no more secrets to give.

Chantal stumbled back, surprised, and Ladybug reached for her. She almost missed. Her fingers brushed the fabric of her clothing and got caught on a pocket, briefly exposing a folded piece of white paper, faintly glowing purple. _There it is!_

Cat Noir darted around them and managed to grab one of Chantal's wrists, but she broke free and jumped out of reach. "Why won't you let me help him, too?" she asked.

"I'm happy not knowing who he is," Ladybug said. "It's safer this way." The akuma was only a few buildings over, but if she called Lucky Charm now, would it be enough to overcome the distance? The woman moved so fast. They needed to get her back inside somewhere, but no ideas came to mind, and she was already getting farther away. With no other plan, their only choice was to try to chase her down again.

After a few minutes of fruitless running, they were both out of breath. Cat Noir dropped onto a roof and put his hands on his hips, chest heaving. "I lost sight of Westley."

"Westley?" Ladybug panted.

He leaned against a dormer window, hiding in the only shade on the roof. His suit was probably worse in the heat than hers. "She needs an akuma name," he said. Ladybug settled into the extra space next to him.

"But why Westley?"

" _Princess Bride_? Westley wore all black."

Ladybug shook her head. "The Dread Pirate Roberts wore all black. Get your geek facts straight, Cat. Plus, he wore a black mask and was blond." She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair to emphasize the point. She wished she could have felt it through the suit. It looked soft.

And then she realized what she was doing and yanked her hand backward. "Uh." She cleared her throat. "S-so Roberts is your nickname now. That's t-the point I was trying to make."

Cat Noir stared at her. Aside from a slight blush, she couldn't read his expression. Why'd she have to make everything so awkward?

Before her hand fell, he grabbed it and bent to kiss it softly. "As you wish," he murmured against her fingers.

Her heart definitely missed a beat, and her thoughts started to spin uncontrollably. _He didn't just- That almost sounded like a confession. He didn't just confess to me with a movie quote. He couldn't have. He doesn't- What is happening right now?_

He turned away without looking at her, but she caught the blush blossoming under his mask. There was no flirty punchline or attempt to play off what he'd done. _He was serious?_ His fingers trembled slightly around hers. Her hand felt heavy as he finally let it fall. _He did! He does!_

His back still to her, Cat Noir vaulted away, following the path the akuma had taken. Ladybug watched him get smaller as she stood there in shock. She felt like a marionette whose strings had all been cut, her body slack as realization sunk in.

He hadn't been joking. He had _never_ been joking.

* * *

 _Author notes:_

 _For those of you who haven't seen_ The Princess Bride _, I hope I made it clear what was happening and why she was reacting that way. If you were confused, here's some context: Westley and Roberts are the same person, and this is a quote from the movie about him: "That day, she was amazed to discover that when he as saying, 'As you wish,' what he meant was, 'I love you.'"_

 _Thank you for the reviews and other feedback! I really appreciate it! :)_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Ladybug stared at nothing for several seconds before jerking herself into motion. The longer she stood there, the farther away the akuma got. The longer Cat Noir chased the akuma without a partner, the more danger he'd be in. He was long out of sight, but she took off in the direction he'd gone, glaring into the beating sunlight.

He'd been serious. This whole time, he'd been serious. How could she not have realized it before? How could she have misread him so badly? The answer was obvious. She was an terrible partner.

Guilt twisted in her stomach as she pushed her muscles until they burned, trying to catch up. Buildings flashed in a blur below her. How could she have been so callous when she pushed his flirting away? What else about him had she misunderstood?

She only stopped when she was completely out of breath and pulled open her yoyo to find Cat Noir's location. A green dot was careening toward her red one, and she snapped her head up just in time to see him bound up and over a neighboring building, Chantal right behind him.

"It's too bad you'll never know!" he was yelling over his shoulder.

"Hold still and tell me who you are!" Chantal dove, but he jumped over her, and she missed. They hadn't seen Ladybug yet. She could still set up an ambush. All she had to do was keep out of sight and focus on the mission. This wasn't the time for self-indulgent wallowing.

The two were still running, already several rooftops away, but Ladybug could clearly make out Cat Noir jumping off a tall building. As Ladybug swung closer, Chantal skidded to a stop to look over the edge before jumping to a balcony three stories down and following Cat Noir onto the sidewalk below, then up again. She may have had supernatural abilities, but she apparently couldn't handle large drops as well as the baton. Ladybug filed that information away for later.

When she had crept close enough to hear, Cat Noir was saying something about wanting to keep his _purr-_ sonal in- _fur-_ mation to himself as he inched closer to Chantal, who had positioned herself on top of a chimney, hands on her hips. Ladybug positioned herself directly behind her target, clearly in Cat Noir's line of sight.

He took a step backward when he saw her, carefully keeping his face blank. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm running out of puns." Ladybug raised her yoyo and aimed.

"That sounds unlikely," Chantal said, voice flat once again.

"I know," he said. "I wouldn't have thought it _paw-_ sible."

She let the yoyo fly. Cat Noir caught her eye and smiled triumphantly at her. Another wave of guilt made Ladybug jerk reflexively, and a crack split the air as the yoyo hit the brick chimney instead of wrapping around its target.

Chantal jumped up to escape, but Cat Noir was too quick. The extended baton knocked her out of her trajectory. She landed in heap, slipping down the roof a few inches as both heroes ran to her. Cat Noir reached the akuma first, reaching out to grab her before she went over the edge.

"No, Cat! It's a trap!"

Chantal whipped her hands out toward his face, but Ladybug was close enough to yank her partner out of harm's way by his tail. The woman's sudden movement unbalanced her, and she slipped off the edge, only to reappear a second later, jumping away to another roof.

"Phew. She's fine," Cat Noir said as he straightened up. "Scared me for a second there."

How could he be so relaxed? She couldn't even bear to look at him, and she wasn't the one who was getting rejected. It was so much easier to stand there and wring her hands and watch as Chantal stared them down from across the street. At least it looked like she was getting tired. Her shoulders sagged, and she was breathing heavily.

"Did you want to keep just my tail, or did you want the whole package?" Cat Noir said as he gestured to himself.

Ladybug glanced down at her hands, which were still gripping his tail for dear life. She flinched and dropped it, but didn't say anything, and still didn't look at him. She should say something.

"Ah, sorry," Cat Noir said, scratching the back of his neck. "I made everything weird, didn't I?"

"Don't apologize," she said quietly. "Thank you for telling me." She was relieved she didn't have to say anything else, that she didn't have to explain why she couldn't return his feelings, but she immediately smothered the relief with guilt. He shouldn't have had to find out that way. He'd deserved to hear it from her. How had she not seen the hurt? He'd looked so happy. Even now, she couldn't see it.

A tentative hand rested on her shoulder, and Ladybug finally turned to face him. She couldn't see any pain, just concern for her. "This doesn't have to change anything," he said. "Okay?" He was constantly putting her feelings before his own. How could she not have realized he was serious sooner?

"Sure," she said. It felt like a lie. This changed their entire dynamic.

Chantal was looking up and down the street, probably planning her next move. Mission now, wallowing later. "Splitting up hasn't worked, so how about this time we just hit her together head on?"

"Sounds _paw_ -sitively-"

The woman in black went suddenly rigid, and Cat Noir sucked in a sharp breath.

"What?"

"Hawk Moth," he said. "Can't you see the butterfly?"

Ladybug frantically looked around for another akuma before she realized he had been talking about Chantal. The glowing, purple outline was barely visible. "Now," she said. "While she's distracted."

They jumped together, clearing the distance easily and landing on either side of her, just as the outline disappeared. Chantal's face lost its impassive glaze, and instead she just looked annoyed.

As the duo moved in, each grabbing for an arm, Chantal reacted. In a blur, she body slammed Ladybug, who was knocked off her feet, but recovered with a graceful flip.

"Hawk Moth is getting tired of this," she said.

"Hey, me too," Cat Noir said.

She stalked toward Ladybug, scowling. "I need those earrings. Let's just get this over with, Marinette."

Ladybug wrinkled her nose at the use of her civilian name, but stood her ground, spinning the yoyo like a shield. Cat Noir ran forward and brought his baton down hard on the victim's head, only to find that she'd already jumped. Instead, he dented the roof, and Chantal landed behind Ladybug, grabbing her, and pinning her arms to her side, only to get flipped over a second later.

The talk with Hawk Moth had made Chantal much more aggressive. Instead of falling back and regrouping, she sprang back toward them as soon as she had righted herself, her straight hair splayed across her face. Well, if she was going to chase them, Ladybug was going to use it to their advantage.

"You're right," she said. "It's time to end this." She turned and swung away, hoping Cat Noir would be able to slow Chantal down. There would be no way to outrun her otherwise. She didn't look behind her to find out.

Five swings. It only took her five swings to find what she was looking for, a tall building that was still under construction. Hopefully, an abandoned floor would be enclosed enough. She sized up the building, trying to decide which window to break, when there was a heavy thud behind her, and she jumped and spun to find her partner.

"How'd you outrun her?"

"I didn't," he said. "It was great. You should have seen it, My Lady." He spun his baton, tossed it and caught it, just to show off, she was sure. "She was so focused on you that she didn't see me sneak up behind her. Knocked her right into a dumpster! Two points!" He mimed shooting a basketball and looked far too pleased with himself. "So before she catches up, what's the plan?"

"Too late," she said. Chantal jumped into view three buildings away and was closing the distance fast. "Break one of those windows."

There was a tinkle of glass as his baton smashed through the highest one, easily ten stories above them. Ladybug watched as Chantal landed on the other end of their roof, then felt her stomach drop as she suddenly lurched up. Cat Noir had grabbed her around the middle and shot them through the narrow window as easily as she could have threaded a needle.

A quick scan of the room told her that her good luck was finally paying off. The whole story was abandoned, expect for a few power tools and the smell of sawdust. The floor was mostly open, with slabs of sheetrock sectioning off areas here and there. There was a large hole in the floor at the opposite corner of the room, where she assumed the stairs were, and there were several concrete columns leading up to a high ceiling, though she wasn't sure if those were there for support or decoration. Probably better to leave them intact, just in case. A line of windows all around the floor let in shafts of sunlight. The duo took their positions on either side of the broken window, hoping to catch Chantal as she followed them in.

Seconds ticked by slowly, and just when Ladybug started to think that the jump had been too high for her, the unbroken window on her other side shattered. Ladybug turned just in time to see Chantal land among the shards before she shot forward again, knocking the yoyo out of her way. Ladybug rolled and tried to kick the woman's feet out from under her, vaguely aware that Cat Noir was moving to flank her. She missed, and rolled too far, smacking into one of the columns with her hip. She winced and rolled behind it, hoping to buy herself some time.

Cat Noir bought her some instead, asking Chantal if she was feeling _claw-_ straphobic yet, or if she'd at _yeast_ consider abandoning her half- _baked_ plan. He kept he akuma victim distracted with multiple swings from the baton, maneuvering her into the center of the room, where he finally backed her into a column.

"My Lady, do you think it's about time we _wrapped_ this up?" Chantal tried to dodge to the side, but he kept her pinned up against the column.

Wrap? Why a wrapping pun?

Oh!

She threw her yoyo, which wrapped around Chantal several times and securely pinned her to the column. Ladybug held the end of the line tight and watched as the woman struggled uselessly. There was no escape. They'd won. Only... she didn't feel relieved. What if no one forgot? What if she had to live with the reveal forever?

"Well," Cat Noir said. "That was anticlimactic." He frowned, and his cat ears pressed flat against his head. Were they worrying about the same thing?

"That was a wasted opportunity, Kitten. I'm disappointed." He cocked his head, but kept his eyes on Chantal. "Didn't you mean anti- _claw_ -mactic?"

A small smile ghosted over his face. "Shall we finish this, My Lady?" Chantal struggled harder, but it didn't do her any good.

"It's in her pocket," Ladybug said. "A piece of paper."

Cat Noir stalked forward, tail swishing, as Chantal wiggled ferociously, and Ladybug felt the tug on the line she was holding. She wanted to tell her that fighting against magical weapons wouldn't help her, but she kept her mouth shut. Instead, she wondered if she should tell Cat Noir what might happen to his memories. This was her last chance.

He deserved to know. He'd been honest with her. She tried to push away the guilt over rejecting him. She'd told him not to apologize for his feelings. She shouldn't apologize for hers.

He was only a few steps away. The akuma victim had stopped struggling, instead slipping her fingers into her pocket to touch the paper and then squeezing her eyes shut in concentration. Cat Noir reached out. It was too late to tell him. Her indecision made the decision for her.

Chantal started to fuzz. It was plainly visible around her face and the outline of her body. Her image became blurry, then turned as dark as her clothing, then dissolved. Ladybug was jerked backward as slack suddenly appeared in the line. The cloud of shadow that had been a person floated toward Cat Noir, who jumped, then backed up into a defensive stance. Chantal reformed only inches away from where she had been, but far enough that she was free of the yoyo, which was helpfully trapping only the column. Chantal gasped and took her fingers out of her pockets. Her forehead was shiny with sweat, and she had to rest her hands on her knees to hold herself up as she caught her breath.

Ladybug and Cat Noir stared at her. He'd moved in front of his partner, baton up. Ladybug wondered if he was protective of her like this on purpose or if it was a reflex by now. How had she ever believed he wasn't serious?

She rubbed her hip absently. It was probably going to bruise.

"It looks like she's got a _secret_ weapon," Cat Noir said.

His voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "I don't think that can be counted as a pun." She started to reel her yoyo back in. She needed to be ready. It sounded like Chantal's breathing was already starting to even out. "That's literally a secret weapon. You'll have to think of a new one."

"Fine. _Litter_ -ally." He quickly glanced away from Chantal to see her reaction to the joke. "Stop glaring at me! You told me to."

Chantal used the momentary distraction to lunge forward, targeting Cat Noir this time.

They split off in opposite directions, both knowing their best bet would be to catch her in between them.

"So, what was your boyfriend's secret?" Cat Noir tried again. "What if we could help you instead of fight you?"

"Nothing," Chantal said. "This was my fault." Was she implying that she'd gotten herself akumatized? Well, that was a new one. Anyway, now was probably their best bet for Lucky Charm. Ladybug stopped spinning her yoyo to summon it and took a step forward. Chantal seemed to realize her time was running out. Before Ladybug could say anything, their target ran straight toward Cat Noir, then feinted to the right. When he went to defend that side, she wasn't there. Instead, she wrapped one hand around his bare neck. Cat Noir went rigid, his eyes blank.

"No!" Ladybug yelled. The yoyo moved almost on its own, wrapping itself securely around him and pulling him away. She caught him before he fell to the floor. Her heartbeat pounded in her throat.

"That felt weird." He rubbed his neck, but he didn't seem hurt.

 _Not him, too. Please._

When they looked back at Chantal, her normally calm face had cracked into an ecstatic grin. _She's going to tell everyone!_ She bolted for the edge of the large room, but instead of heading toward a window, she weaved her way around the sheetrock walls to the corner with the large stairway hole. _She'll tell everyone, and Cat Noir will be in danger!_

Ladybug hadn't even realized she was chasing the woman. She just suddenly felt her hair whipping out behind her, her quick breathing, her yoyo in her hand. _Not my partner!_ Cat Noir tagged along beside her, quiet for once. Chantal jumped into the hole seconds before them.

 _What if Hawk Moth targets him next? What if criminals target his family? What's his family like? What if he's forced to leave Paris?_

Chantal took the stairs whole flights at a time. With each level, they fell a little bit farther behind, and Ladybug's hip hurt a little bit more. At every floor, she expected the akuma to go for a window, but they must have been halfway down the building before they heard yelling and glass smashing. They jumped the last five steps and landed on the floor in a roll, totally in sync. There were workers here, putting in carpet. They'd fled toward the edges of the room, and several pointed out the wide, broken window, in case the heroes couldn't figure out where the akuma had gone.

"Thank you!" Cat Noir said. He even smiled at waved at them as they passed. Ladybug didn't even spare them a glance, instead pointing out to her almost-panicking self that Cat Noir was too kind to deserve what Chantal was planning on doing to him. Ladybug could still see her on a roof outside. They still had time.

They dove through the window, which was big enough that they could both go through at once. They landed on a coffee shop, judging by the smell. Cat Noir jumped toward the woman immediately, and Ladybug jogged to keep up. Her adrenaline wasn't enough to overcome the pain at her side. She thought she heard Chantal laughing ahead of them.

"I really am helping you!" she said. She had just jumped onto a chimney, and was crouching to jump again.

"No, thank you!" Cat Noir shouted, as he scrambled to catch up to her. "I wanted to tell her myself!"

Ladybug was struggling to keep up. Her hip flared in pain every time she moved quickly, but she was close enough to listen with growing terror.

Instead of leaping toward safety, Chantal landed only a short distance away and glanced over her shoulder at Cat Noir. "You promise?" She sounded skeptical. Her eyes narrowed as he took a few more steps toward her. He was almost close enough to touch her.

He reached out a clawed hand. "Of cour-"

"NO! NO! NO!" With a final burst of speed, Ladybug landed next to them with an ungraceful thud. Chantal scowled and took off.

"What was that? I almost had her!"

She barely heard her partner, too focused on the fact that- "No! She's getting away again!" And with Cat Noir's identity. _Who is he?_ His real name was too important to reveal, even to her. He was always protecting her. She had to protect him from this.

Chantal dodged around a corner, but by the time they'd reached the spot, she was gone. Ladybug searched the surrounding rooftops frantically, but she'd disappeared.

"I don't see her," Cat Noir said. His ears swiveled, but didn't give him any clues.

 _I'm not letting her get away with his name!_ _What if cleansing the akuma doesn't fix this?!_

Ladybug swung, pushed herself, searched, swung again, chased shadows, only to realize she hadn't seen the akuma, then took off in another direction, again and again and again. She refused to believe the woman had gotten away. Fixing things was her job. She had to fix this. Her frenzied chasing didn't stop her from panicking.

Cat Noir stayed right behind her, trying to get to her to slow down.

"My Lady, stop! Wait for me!"

She only stopped when she paused to find a good anchor, but she stayed an extra few seconds to catch her breath. It gave Cat Noir enough time to land softly next to her and catch her by the shoulder. He was breathing hard, too.

"It's too late," he said. "She got away."

Ladybug shook her head and raised the yoyo. Cat Noir put his hand over hers and gently pushed it down. She felt his fingers linger on hers, but she didn't look away from the horizon. The sun was lower than she expected. They'd been at this the better part of the afternoon. Would Chantal's announcement show up on her yoyo?

"I'm going to tell you who I am now," he said.

"I still don't think it's a good idea."

When she finally looked at him, he was crossing his arms. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

Ladybug didn't answer, though she knew her one good reason.

"I'd rather you hear it from me," he said gently.

"No."

"Hey, I had to find out yours through that announcement."

He wasn't going to let it go unless she told him, was he? "If I hear it from you, I'll probably remember it. If I hear it from her-" She cringed as she heard the words coming out of her mouth. Would he still help her if he knew he might forget? "When I cleanse that akuma, there's a chance I'll forget who you are."

"Good. I don't want you to forget."

"Well, I do!" _But will he still help me?_

"It's my identity," he said. "It should be my choice!"

It was sound logic, difficult to argue with. But she knew he was just saying it because of his feelings for her. She couldn't let that change her answer. He'd be in serious danger. So she stood firm and shook her head. "NO."

"This is stupid! Just let me tell you!"

"The mission is more important than us. Stop being selfish!"

"Me?!" His tone made it clear who he thought the selfish one was. "It's just my name. What are you so afraid of?"

"Everyone I care about is in danger! I want at least _you_ to be safe!"

"Maybe I don't care about my safety!"

She could feel the pinpricks of tears forming at the corners of her eyes. He didn't really mean that, did he? He had to stay safe. "One of us has to care."

"I'd rather be with you! Please." He took a step closer and grabbed her hand, and she couldn't find a reason to pull away. "Please, let me tell you." He was almost whispering.

"I don't want to know who you are."

He moved in so close to her that their toes were almost touching, and he leaned his face towards hers. "Yes, you do." Her stomach flipped uncomfortably.

"Cat Noir," she said, finally pulling away. "You know I like someone else." She hadn't wanted to come right out and say it like that. She watched his reaction carefully, but didn't see any hurt flash across his face. Why not? _"_ I just want everything to go back to normal when this is over." She swallowed hard. She was not going to cry in front of him.

"Well, I don't."

He wasn't going to help her. Home was somewhere behind her, so she turned and swung off, ignoring his calls for her. Her throat hurt from holding back her sobs, but she wouldn't let herself cry. So what if he didn't want to help her this time? She'd had to fight without him a bunch of times. This wasn't so bad. So what if he didn't care about his safety? She'd just have to protect him this time instead. So what if he knew who she was, or that their easy friendship had probably been damaged by his confession? So what if she knew she was hurting him? These weren't good reasons to cry.

The wind tore at her face and pigtails, and the cold air traced along the tracks her tears made down her cheeks, chilling them. As soon as she landed on her balcony, she detransformed and scrubbed at her eyes.

Tikki tried comforting her, but Marinette slipped through the skylight, flopped onto her bed, and completely ignored her kwami. This one was officially her least favorite akuma ever. She laid on her stomach for a while, staring at nothing, when she finally decided she should at least text Alya. She'd need to know to not to try texting the yoyo.

Message sent, she buried her face in her pillow. She was exhausted from all the useless running, and her hip still hurt besides. They were going to have to think of another tactic, but Marinette was having trouble focusing.

She wasn't sure how much time had gone by when she pulled her phone out again. Alya hadn't texted her back. Or had she simply missed the notification? Checking the messages, she realized it had been almost an hour, and Alya had been completely silent.

Something wasn't right. Marinette called. The phone rang and rang and rang, until it finally went to voicemail. Alya had said her battery was full. She couldn't have been out of cell range for over an hour. Something definitely wasn't right. A quick call to Alya's house revealed that her family didn't know where she was either.

Her last resort was to transform. Tikki had curled up with a cookie in a pile of sweaters and fallen asleep. Marinette was too worried to feel bad about waking her up. Ladybug stood in the middle of the pink bedroom, toes curling in anxiety. Alya hadn't called or texted. She couldn't even find her friend with the yoyo's tracking ability. She wasn't- Chantal hadn't-

Ladybug dizzily released the transformation.

"What's wrong?" Tikki asked. She still looked sleepy. Her eyelids drooped.

Marinette pulled out her phone with shaking fingers, scrolling through her recent texts until she found the one that simply said, "You're welcome."

Marinette – 4:06 – Where. Is. Alya.

Tikki read over the message and gasped.

Chantal – 4:06 – It's a secret.

* * *

 _Author's note: Dun dun dun! Aren't you glad I didn't drop this cliffhanger on you and then disappear for a month? (Sorry about that, by the way. I blame NaNo, real life stuff, and this stupid chapter. It was a serious pain in the neck to write. And longer than most of the others.) We should be back to a regular update schedule now._

 _I have to share a completely unrelated story. So once one of my younger siblings was watching a show in another room, and I went, hey, that sounds like Adrien's voice. Went in to find a character that looked NOTHING like Adrien. Different hair, different build, different intonation, different artistic design. But he still sounded like Adrien. A quick trip to Google told me that it was the same voice actor. Even though he looked completely different, I could still identify him by his voice. What's your excuse, Marinette? :p_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Marinette knew she was panicking because her first thought was, _I have to tell Ladybug, and make her stop the akuma_ , instead of _I have to stop the akuma._ She could feel her heart beating in her throat, and her breath kept catching on it. She was still staring at the screen.

"You need to call Cat Noir," Tikki said, and she dove back to the sweater drawer to finish off her cookie. Marinette wanted to take her advice, but knew she couldn't. He'd made it clear that he'd wanted to keep this new status quo. She was hurting him enough already. It would be cruel to ask for his help this time. Besides, she didn't really want to talk to him right now. He probably didn't want to talk to her after their fight either.

She squeaked when her phone buzzed and lit up. Incoming message. From Alya?! From Chantal?! No... from Adrien, wanting to check up on her. He apologized for not being able to help her much earlier and asked if there was anything he could do to help her, with anything, not just dealing with fans. Her lips twitched in a small smile. He couldn't help her with her current problems, but at least her sweet Adrien had made her feel a bit better. She stuck the phone into her pocket without texting him back.

"You aren't going to talk to him, either?" Tikki asked, flitting around her.

Marinette shook her head. "I want to, but now really isn't the time. Are you ready?"

The kwami nodded, antennae bobbing. Within seconds, Ladybug was jumping across her neighbors' roofs. Her hip still hurt, but it was dulled by the suit and her adrenaline.

She couldn't waste any time. Chantal might not wait overnight to expose Cat Noir, like she'd done for her. And Alya. She had to find Alya before something happened. She pushed herself to go faster.

After about thirty seconds of swinging around, she realized this was the absolute dumbest way to try to find Chantal. She'd have a better chance checking the comments section on the Ladyblog, hoping someone else would see her, rather than looking by herself. But she couldn't just sit still and wait anymore.

Would she be out in the open somewhere, avoiding enclosed spaces? As buildings whipped past her, Ladybug made a mental note of places she could use to trap Chantal later. There were plenty of empty places in Paris. Schools that were out of session, churches that wouldn't see a congregation for another week, businesses that were closed for the summer. She wished Cat Noir was there. His keen senses would have been able to tell quickly which places were empty.

 _If I were an akuma, where would I hide a captive?_ Her stomach lurched, and it wasn't because of the swing she'd just made. Hawk Moth. They wouldn't have hidden Alya with Hawk Moth, right? She quickly talked herself out of that idea. It was too much of a security risk, and no hostage had ever been brought there before, especially not Alya. So where...

Ladybug landed, only to turn around and head back the way she'd come, toward Chantal's home. She doubted the woman in black would be there, but her family might have ideas.

The Renard family only lived two arrondissements away in a small apartment building. She awkwardly knocked on their living room window and watched as a boy probably her age jumped in surprise at seeing her hanging out his window upside down, before running to let her in.

"Did you find her yet?" he asked as he help her through the window. Her hip flared up in pain at the awkward movement.

"Not yet. I'm sorry." She felt a sudden stab of guilt as the boy's shoulders slumped.

"Mama!" the boy called.

His mother shuffled into the room, sporting the same bright red hair and disappointed expression as her son. "If you've come asking for information," she said, "I'm afraid I have none to give."

"You've haven't seen her since Saturday?"

She shook her head, then sat down on the only couch in the small living room and wrapped a throw blanket around her shoulders, despite the heat. "She was so happy when she went to see him. He'd asked her to come over, said he had some good news. Next thing we knew, she called home, saying they'd gotten into a fight, and that was the last we'd heard from her."

"Why haven't you purified her akuma yet?" the brother asked. He'd crossed his arms, glaring at the wall instead of her.

"She's just very good at escaping, that's all," Ladybug said, hoping to reassure them. "I'm trying to figure out where she's been staying. What places does she visit a lot?"

"Either here or Anatole's place," he answered. His mother had her face in her hands, the blanket falling slightly around her shoulders. Anatole's place.

"I'll check his apartment, then." She adjusted the blanket over the mother's shoulders. "Don't worry. We've never been bested by Hawk Moth before. We'll have her back before you know it." The boy snorted and left the room.

The woman nodded and told her the address. Up close, Ladybug could see the flecks of gray mixed in with the red and the bags under her eyes. "Thank you for your help," she told her as she escaped the woman's silent, desperate plea.

Anatole's apartment was a likely spot. She was familiar with it, probably had a key, and it was currently empty, and Ladybug was not at all surprised when, as she turned down Anatole's street, Chantal suddenly appeared. Ladybug narrowly avoided being bodyslammed by flipping out of the way and landing on a neighboring balcony.

"Where's Alya?"

"Where's your partner?" Chantal countered.

She was not letting Ladybug get closer to the apartment. Ladybug swung and jumped from different directions, but Chantal blocked her every time. If she needed proof that Alya was being held there, that was it.

As much as she wanted to rescue her best friend, Ladybug knew the best way to help her was to stop the akuma. All she needed was a few seconds and an enclosed space. Doubt started to chip away at her resolve as she swung toward one of the buildings she had picked out. She hadn't been able to do this with Cat Noir. Why on earth did she think she could do this without him?

Before she could get far, Chantal landed in front of her, black hair limp around her face and lips pursed. "Where is he?" Her eyes scanned the surrounding buildings, waiting for an ambush that wasn't going to come.

"We're fighting," Ladybug said.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

No, the best way to help Alya would be to call Cat Noir. She could keep the akuma distracted, and he could rescue her. She threw the yoyo and took off. She still didn't want to bring him into this. But despite herself, she instinctively started to look for places where she could stop and hide long enough to contact him.

 _No,_ she thought. _I just need to summon Lucky Charm._ Chantal came out of nowhere and hip-checked her. Fortunately, she hit the good hip. Unfortunately, she fell over onto the bad hip.

"Did he tell you who he is yet?"

"No, I didn't let him," she said as she pushed herself up. "Let my friend go." They dodged around each other across the rooftops, both searching for an opening, waiting to see who would be risky enough, or desperate enough, to make the first move.

"She's safe," Chantal said. "Hawk Moth didn't want her interfering."

Hawk Moth turned out to be the most desperate. A butterfly briefly appeared over Chantal's face, but as Ladybug was moving to take advantage of the distraction, it vanished.

"I said I would!" she yelled at him. "Stop pushing!" She lunged forward, like a large, black bullet, and Ladybug was forced to jump backward out of the way, her feet slipping on the tile roof. There wasn't going to be time, she realized. No time to call Cat Noir. No one to serve as a distraction while she figured out how to use Lucky Charm. He probably wasn't even transformed right now. She should have gotten his cell number. She shouldn't have told him what could happen to his memories. He'd be here now if she hadn't.

Panic started to bubble up in her stomach, but she forced herself to focus on what she could control. This dodge, that swing, putting distance between herself and the akuma, feinting to the left, getting inside her range to grab the paper from her pocket, only to abort as Chantal almost grabbed her earrings.

She dodged behind a chimney to catch her breath, only to find Chantal had already looped around and was waiting for her. Ladybug whipped her yoyo out, hoping to catch her or at least trip her. Chantal only jumped back out of the way, flinching in surprise. The yoyo kept going, hooking around a building instead. Well, that would work. Ladybug let the yoyo pull her away. Time to head to a different location.

It was good that she'd picked out so many place. Chantal was still much faster and kept cutting her off, forcing her to change paths again and again. Her arms ached, even with the extra endurance the suit granted her.

"If he hasn't told you," Chantal said, as she landed on a window ledge across the street, "then I'm going on."

Ladybug swung off before the akuma victim could continue. "That's not a thing that's going to happen," she said to herself. There was an office building close by. The top floor was empty and waiting to be rented. Only two streets away. If she could just stay ahead long enough-

"His name-" Chantal had landed two feet in front of her.

Ladybug skidded to a stop and threw her weapon. With a satisfied smirk, she wrapped up Chantal, who had to stop talking to turn into smoke. She gasped again, putting a hand on her chest, but jumped away as Ladybug's reached for her. Her next few leaps didn't carry her as far as they normally would have. She landed on the street below and ducked around a corner.

 _Maybe I should just focus on trapping her and wearing her down. None of this hand-to-hand and running around stuff._ Ladybug landed lightly on the street. It was rush hour. Cars whizzed as usual, but people on the sidewalk were scattering, barely taking the time to gawk at a superhero. She scanned the street. She'd lost sight of her quarry, and putting herself out in the open like this was dangerous, but Cat Noir would watch from the other directi-

She felt a sharp pain in the center of her back and fell forward with the force. She managed to roll and land on her feet before Chantal could get another punch in. Of course Cat Noir wasn't watching from the other direction. Did she really depend on him so much that she'd actually _forgotten_ he wasn't there? Yes, apparently.

Maybe she should have let him tell her his name, she thought as she launched herself toward the sky. This fight would be so much easier. Chantal still looked a little winded as she followed. This was probably as good a chance as she was going to get. She threw her yoyo in the air. "Lu-"

"His name is A-"

The yoyo's trajectory changed abruptly and smacked the akuma right across the face.

"Right," Chantal said, rubbing her cheek. "I'm going to take that yoyo away. Then I'm going to tell you."

Though Ladybug had already ruled out running as a good plan, that's what she spent the next several minutes doing. She only managed to stay ahead by making larger leaps. Chantal had an impressive range, but against the yoyo's near-infinite length, she was forced to make several smaller jumps. Jumps down seemed to be especially difficult for her.

Where was that building she had seen? She'd had to take so many twists and turns to avoid getting caught that she wasn't sure. She swung herself in a large arc, eyes on the skyline. There it was. The empty floor was at the top... and there was nothing for her to latch onto. Cat Noir could have vaulted them both up there, but she couldn't pull herself up by herself. She scanned the street for options. _Front door it is._

Chantal dove at her, but Ladybug threw herself off the roof and landed in front of the massive double doors, apologizing to the startled civilians that jumped out of her way. (Or a- _paw-_ logizing. Stupid Cat, making her think of stupid puns, even when he wasn't there.)

She ran to find the stairs. The elevators were clearly displayed at the far end of the atrium, three sets of them. Screams behind her let her know that elevators would have to be good enough. She didn't have any time to look around.

One opened and deposited two men with suits and briefcases into the growing panic that was the ground floor. She scurried inside as they ran in opposite directions. She hit the button to close the doors, but it didn't work fast enough. Chantal slipped in at the last second, and they were both jerked upward. Ladybug's stomach dropped suddenly with the movement. Well, she needed an enclosed space. If this isn't enclosed enough, nothing would be. Calming elevator music tried to soothe them, but after a second of staring at each other, they both jumped forward.

There wasn't much room for maneuvering, but by the time they'd reached the top floor, Ladybug had her yoyo wrapped around Chantal again. Even if she smoked herself free, there was no where for the akuma to run, but Ladybug was taking no chances this time. Unfortunately, she'd wrapped her too many times. The pocket itself was pinned shut, protecting the paper. Ladybug leaned over her, her fingers struggling to fish out the paper while Chantal squirmed and thrashed, leaning against the doors-

-which slid open with a pleasant ding. Chantal flopped onto the floor and smoked herself free, stumbling and gasping. Ladybug, ever graceful, lost her balance and tripped over her own yoyo wire. The top floor looked like it was mostly one open room, divided with dozens of cubicles. Chantal used Ladybug's distraction to dive for cover.

Had someone set up the cubicles like a maze on purpose? By the time Ladybug reached the corner Chantal had hid behind, she was gone, though Ladybug could still hear her breathing heavily somewhere off to the left. Desks and chairs were already set up, though she could see no decorations as the cubicles flashed by her. Footsteps echoed to her right. Was Chantal trying to loop around behind her? Ladybug resisted the urge to look over her shoulder.

There was an easier way to do this. The cubicle walls were thin, but they should be able to support her weight. She hopped up, wobbling slightly before catching sight of the akuma ahead of her and breaking into a very precarious jog in the opposite direction. She was very visible, and she was counting on Chantal taking the bait. The corner office was over there, and only the door was slightly ajar. Perfect.

Ladybug definitely felt like bait as she landed in front of the door. The large windows that wrapped around the building showed a blazing sunset. She squinted away, blinking. If the sun was going to be difficult, they'd just have to rely on Cat Noir's hearing to pinpoint the woman's location. She'd just wait for his signal.

Except he wasn't there to give one. Stupid!

She scrambled to put her back toward the open doorway, so she couldn't be snuck up on, heart pounding. How had she forgotten again?! She unhooked the yoyo from her waist, ready to call for Lucky Charm, but Chantal jumped the low wall directly in front of her and tackled her through the doorway before she could react.

Ladybug rolled with the attack, figuratively and literally. This room was where she had wanted to be anyway. She kicked the door shut and threw Chantal off of her.

Like this cubicles outside, the room was mostly empty except for a desk and chair. Two walls were lined with empty shelves. Two were lined with large windows.

Ladybug was on her feet before Chantal straightened up, and she threw the yoyo while she had the chance. It shot out in front of her, and she quickly moved in to collect the akumatized item, but the yoyo never found its mark. The woman in black caught it and yanked. Hard.

It was enough to pull Ladybug off balance. She kept herself from falling, but she couldn't keep her hold on the yoyo string when Chantal pulled again. Ladybug took a defensive stance, ready to attack or dodge. Chantal smirked, then threw the weapon.

Ladybug was not fast enough.

The wire wrapped around her, almost too fast to see in the light of the sunset. She kept her feet apart, trying to maintain her footing, but Chantal gave another yank and she went down, landing on her already injured hip. She gasped, and wriggled until she was on her back. Her arms were pinned tightly, and she couldn't get enough leverage to lift herself up off the ground. Now what should she do? There had to be something.

Her eyes frantically scanned the room, but were caught by a flash of something through the window. Had that been movement, or was it just the clouds? Massive rain clouds were rolling in, and the sky was starting to go dark, threatening a storm.

She jerked her attention back to Chantal, who was stalking toward her. She didn't look triumphant, just blank again. _Think. There has to be something in here that I can use. Right?_

There hadn't been much Chantal had been able to do in her situation, but Ladybug hooked her foot around the leg of the desk, trying to move it or pull herself toward it, she wasn't sure. Neither worked. Chantal reached for her earrings. There was a flash of movement through the window again. Ladybug saw it out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't look away. She was too busy defiantly glaring at her captor.

"Cat Noir's real name," she began. It wouldn't matter if Chantal told her. She'd forget. She'd forget and everything would go back to normal.

"Is A-"

Glass exploded into the room, and a black-clad figure landed among the shards.

* * *

 _Author note: Heh. Remember me? Sorry for taking forever. I made everyone wait so long (because of holidays and real life stuff), that I figured I'd made you wait a little longer, and finish the whole thing! (Well, it's almost finished. I'm almost done chapter 13, which is the last one.) Chapter 12 will be up Friday night, and the last one will be up Saturday night, as usual. Thank you to everyone who read in the hiatus!_ _And Whovianeverlark17, I'm glad you liked it! Sorry about the cavities! :)_

 _As a side note, I only realized now that I gave Chantal the last name of Renard, which translates to fox in English. This was totally coincidental. (Actually, I chose the name because of Gunnerkrigg Court. Haha.)_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Ladybug used the distraction to kick Chantal's feet out from under her. She tumbled to the ground, and Cat Noir plucked the yoyo out of her hands as she struggled to get her footing. Ladybug couldn't tell if she was more relieved at his sudden arrival or more nervous about talking to him about their argument. She needed to apologize.

Chantal dove for the window and bounded out, but Cat Noir didn't give chase, instead grabbing his partner by the arms and hoisting her to her feet. Without someone pulling the wire tight, the coils went slack and started to slide off of her. She focused her attention on freeing herself, and then carefully winding up the yoyo. Chantal had almost told her. How ironic was it that she'd only been stopped by the other person that wanted her to know?

"You okay?"

She still didn't look at him. "Thank you," she said. "I'm fine now." She started to pick her way through the glass to the open window. "We need to hurry. She's hidden Alya in Anatole's apartment, but I think it would be best if we-"

He grabbed her hand to stop her. "I'm sorry." This was the part where he said he was sorry, but he just couldn't help this time, right?

He cleared his throat and continued. "I went to your house to apologize, but your parents said they hadn't seen you, so..." He held his baton up. Right. The tracking function. "Why didn't you just call me?"

"Well, I really didn't have any time to. She's so fast and everything." She turned toward him enough to see him raise a skeptical eyebrow, but not enough to meet his eyes. She sighed. "You said you didn't want things going back to normal. It wouldn't be fair to force you to help if you didn't want to."

She should have trusted him. He'd deserved that much. She turned away again, so she wasn't prepared when his arms reached out around her and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I shouldn't have pushed my identity on you like that."

"No, I'm sorry," she said. Where should she put her hands? Where should she put her head? How did hugging work again? "Sorry I snapped at you. And didn't call you. I was worried, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Going it alone was kind of dumb."

"Just kind of, huh?"

"Okay, it was really dumb."

"A- _paw_ -logy accepted."

Ladybug let her forehead drop onto his shoulder in exasperation. Stupid Cat. And after everything, he had the nerve to chuckle at his own stupid pun.

"Still friends?" she asked. She cringed when she realized how he probably interpreted her choice of words. She didn't mean to say it like that. He would take it as yet another attempt to distance him, to push him away. She waited for him to flinch, but he didn't.

Instead, he gave her one last quick squeeze. "Always." He let her go, but kept his hands on her arms, keeping her close to him. His smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm going to help you," he said, "whether I forget or not."

"If you do, that means it should affect all Miraculous holders. Hawk Moth will forget, too."

"Well." He pointed his baton at the window. "Let's hope I forget, then."

 _I messed this all up,_ Ladybug thought to herself as she jumped through the shattered window and up to the roof. _I upset him, and he still puts my needs first._ She wished she could fix the hurt, but she couldn't deny that she was relieved he knew what was at stake and she could still trust him to help.

"What's the plan, My Lady?" Cat Noir said. The roof was flat, and he stood on the lip, looking out over the city. Their shadows stretched out long behind them. "Getting her in that office almost worked. Should we try another tight spot?"

"If you call getting caught with your own weapon almost working." Abandoned buildings didn't work. Rooftops didn't work. Elevators didn't work. Where could they go? What terrain would put her at a disadvantage?

And suddenly, she knew.

"Small places don't work," she said. "So we need more space."

Her mischievous smile was met with confusion. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't giving her plenty of room to escape been a bad idea so far?"

She was still smiling as she jumped over the edge of the roof. She knew exactly where they needed to go.

* * *

Ladybug was used to the wind. When she flew through the air, it would sometimes burn her exposed skin and make her eyes water. Right now though, the wind had an extra bite to it. Storm clouds were gathering, and Cat Noir let her know that he could hear the rumbling of distant thunder. They'd have to finish this quickly or be forced to fight in the rain.

Within seconds, they'd found their quarry. As Ladybug had suspected, the woman wasn't trying to hide. Both sides wanted this over with.

"Don't try too hard yet," Ladybug yelled to her partner. She didn't want Chantal to be scared off yet again. "We have to wear her down, make her follow us." Cat Noir nodded and took the lead, catching Chantal's attention, jumping forward, only to feint away. Good. Let her think they were trying.

Ladybug swung ahead, daring Chantal to catch her. She landed on a lamppost, precariously balancing, as she look for the other two behind her. She had to stay in sight, make sure they were still following.

"Hi, Marinette!"

Startled, Ladybug looked down at the street. Several pedestrians were waving at her from the sidewalk, obviously excited that they knew who she really was. She waved back awkwardly, then jumped away as soon as she saw Chantal crest the building behind her. They needed to be away from people.

Every swing and jump brought them closer to their destination. Ladybug managed to catch Chantal twice on the way. The first time, Cat Noir looked at her in confusion. "I thought we weren't going to catch her?" As expected, Chantal freed herself. It appeared to be a very limited power. She looked more and more exhausted each time she used it. The second time Ladybug caught her, Chantal almost didn't escape at all.

"Why not just catch her now?" Cat Noir finally asked.

"I'm not taking any chances," she said. "We're going to cut off every escape route."

Cat Noir put a comforting hand an her shoulder. His eyes were full of concern for her. "It'll be all right," he said, before jumping away.

Would it, though? Would everyone forget? Would _he_ forget?

Chantal hadn't gotten far this time. She was bent in half, hands on her knees, on the roof of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, with the Eiffel Tower on display behind her. The outline of a butterfly covered her face. Hawk Moth must be getting frustrated. Good. Ladybug leapt over her, just out of reach. The woman lunged for Cat Noir instead, who jumped back in surprise.

"You think you got all my secrets?" Ladybug asked. "You've missed the biggest, juiciest one!"

Chantal's face twisted with anger. "Tell me!"

Cat Noir looked confused, then his face cleared with understanding. "You don't know the half of it," he said. It was ironic, Ladybug realized as Chantal dove for Cat Noir again, that he was safer now. She already knew his identity, and as long as they kept her busy, there wasn't anything worse she could do to him.

Ladybug grabbed Cat Noir's tail and jumped toward the Tower. They kept ahead with longer leaps that Chantal couldn't match. She was already exhausted, and making many smaller jumps was wearing her out even further. This was going to work!

"This is your plan?" Cat Noir asked as they started to climb the Eiffel Tower. Good thing she'd long gotten over her fear of heights. "There's too much open space here." An alarm went off, and civilians started filing out.

"Exactly. There's _too much_ space." She swung up to the next level.

Chantal stopped only 50 feet off the ground, looking around hesitantly. The duo looked down at her from the next beam up. They had to get her higher.

"Why'd you hide Alya?" Cat Noir extended his baton until it was long enough to poke her in the head with. She swatted it away and glared at him. "Are you mad that she figured out your secrets?" He tried poking her again, but she ducked and headed for the edge, getting ready to retreat.

No! They were still too close to the ground!

The butterfly reappeared.

"Absolutely not!" Chantal yelled. "I won't be able to get back down!" The butterfly stayed on her face only a second longer. She growled in frustration and jumped up higher.

 _Thank you, Hawk Moth, for making my life easier for a change._

Cat Noir looked to her for an explanation.

"Haven't you been watching how she moves?" Ladybug asked. "She can jump up just fine, but she never takes large leaps down. It's too steep for her here."

"Nice," Cat Noir said. "How high up are we going?"

"Until I'm certain," she said. Certain that she couldn't escape. Certain that there was nowhere to run. Certain that they would end this.

They were almost to the top when Chantal started to lag behind. "You can't win!" Cat Noir said. She jumped higher in response to his taunting.

"I know," she said. "I'm going to lose." She took another leap forward. She couldn't have been more than fifty feet below them. "But I can at least tell you who he is first." She sucked in a breath.

Ladybug leapt down, and Chantal was forced to use that breath to dodge instead of speak. She landed in the joint of two thick beams and tried again. "His name is-" Ladybug leapt after her. If Chantal couldn't catch her breath, she wouldn't be able to say anything, and Cat Noir's identity would stay safe. He had to stay safe! He yelled at her to stop, but she didn't listen.

They jumped higher, Ladybug only barely keeping Chantal from speaking. They were almost to the observation deck.

"It's A-" Ladybug swung out her yoyo, and Chantal ducked out of the way, thwarted once again. But Ladybug lost her balance. She threw her yoyo out to catch herself. Waves of panic shot through her body as she watched the yoyo miss by mere feet and started to fall back toward her, but Cat Noir's baton extend out from the railing of the Tower, just in time for the yoyo to wrap around it. He reeled her in to safety.

"You have to stop this," he said. "If she tells you, you'll probably forget, right? So stop pushing yourself like this." Ladybug folded her arms across her chest. "You can't help Alya if you're dead," he said.

Above them, Chantal had made it up to the observation deck. A mesh cage surrounded it, designed to keep tourists safe. They watched as she leaned against it, eyes screwed shut and hand in her pocket. Nothing happened. She couldn't phase through it, and she was too high up to get herself down. Cat Noir left Ladybug behind and went to face the woman again.

That had been the perfect opportunity, she realized. He could have insisted on telling her his name, but he didn't. Ladybug allowed herself to admit that it would be so much easier if she knew his name, but she couldn't do that to him. There had to be some other way.

 _But would it really be so bad to know?_

"I'm helping you!" Chantal yelled into the twilight. The wind carried her voice unevenly, and Ladybug could barely hear the words. If she stayed where she was, she probably wouldn't hear his name if Chantal tried to tell her again.

"Not really!" Cat Noir said. His words were faint.

She needed to help, but she couldn't risk getting closer. What could she do? Oh. Right. Quick! While Cat Noir was distracting the akuma.

"Lucky Charm!" she finally shouted. She threw her weapon into the air, and caught a pair of earplugs. No question what she was supposed to do with these. Ladybug shoved them deep into her ears and jumped up to join her partner. As soon as Chantal saw her, she yelled something. Ladybug's relief was almost as loud as the silence she heard.

Cat Noir looked over to gauge her reaction. She smiled at him. "Sorry," she said. Her voice sounded fuzzy and much too loud. "I don't read lips." She tapped on her earplugs. Chantal jumped for her, grabbing at her wrists. The walkway around the observation deck was narrow, and they both started to tip over the side, but Cat Noir caught her around the middle. Chantal lost her hold and started to fall, arms pinwheeling. Ladybug didn't hear her scream as she plunged out of sight.

Ladybug jumped after her, sending the yoyo to coil around her. She stopped their fall by catching a crossbeam. They jerked to a stop, her shoulder aching suddenly. Chantal dangled below her. With immense effort, Ladybug managed to fling her back up to the observation desk. Cat Noir would hopefully be ready to catch her. Had her miraculous beeped its first warning yet? Its second? She wasn't sure.

When she climbed back up, she found Chantal still tangled in the yoyo, tied up in a heap on the narrow walkway. She was speaking to Cat Noir, pleading, by the look of it. Cat Noir was crouching over her, his shoulders slumped.

They'd won. Chantal had exhausted her strength and couldn't escape, and there was nowhere she could go if she did. So why did she feel so defeated? Cat Noir certainly looked about the way she felt. He shook his head sadly in reply to whatever Chantal was saying. The tips of his cat ears drooped. The dark clouds matched his unhappy face as he pulled the paper out of her pocket. It glowed dark purple.

He stared at it for a few seconds, then handed it to her without ripping it. The black lettering was barely visible against the dark paper, but she could see it was an acceptance letter to a university.

"Dauphine?" she said. Her voice still sounded funny. An acceptance letter to Dauphine? What had happened with ParisTech, then? She ripped it in half, then released Chantal and purified the akuma in one fluid motion.

She pulled out her earplugs, and threw them high above her. Her yell of "Miraculous Ladybug!" wasn't loud enough to drown out Chantal's yell of one single word.

"ADRIEN!"

What? Did she just say- WHAT?!

A sea of sparkling red flooded her vision, and Ladybug was only left with the shock. Her memory of his name was just beyond her reach, like she'd had a dream she couldn't quite remember.

A wave of dark purple engulfed Chantal, who flopped in a heap at their feet.

Ladybug's earrings beeped a warning at her. Was that her first one? Her last one? How much time did she have left?

Cat Noir leaned on the mesh of the observation deck's cage, clutching at his baton. She'd forgotten, so he must have, as well. But how much? Everything, probably, like the akuma victims did.

He looked okay. Dazed definitely, but okay. He stared into the distance above Chantal and blinked slowly. Who was he underneath the mask? She'd probably never know now. She tried to shake away the disappointment at that realization. This was what she had wanted. Everything could go back to the way it was.

Chantal pushed herself up, and Ladybug got her first look at the real person they'd been fighting. She had bright red hair, much shorter than her akumatized disguise. Her clothes were brightly colored and covered with images of flowers. Her face was no longer blank, instead filled with confusion and finally terror when she realized how high up she was.

"What's going on?" she asked in alarm. "Where am I?" She scooted as far from the edge as she could, clinging to the mesh cage, then looked around and finally saw them.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry!" Her voice sounded the same, only full of expression and sorrow. "I hope I wasn't too much trouble. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't realize I was that upset!" Her eyes flicked to the edge of the walkway and back to them.

Ladybug was finding it difficult to stay mad. "It's all right," she said. Cat Noir still hadn't moved. Was he okay? "You didn't really bother any civilians. Are you feeling okay?" She ducked down and crouched next to her. "You've been an akuma for almost three days."

"Three days?!" Chantal bolted straight up where she sat. "He's probably moved already!" She rose to her feet, pulling herself up along the mesh and keeping a tight grip. Did she mean Anatole was planning on moving? "I have to go apologize!" She shuffled around the edge of the cage, looking for a way to get down. There probably wasn't one from up here. She'd need their help to reach the ground safely.

"Cat, can you help Chantal down? I need to detransform and-" _Text Alya._ Ladybug looked over at him. How much did he remember? Was it all gone, or did he have some context? Did he remember that she was friends with Alya? Or would mentioning it now be a clue?

What about everyone else? What about the videos on the internet? Her text messages to Alya? People in other countries?

It took several seconds for Cat Noir to respond to her question. "Oh, sure," he said. He put a big, practiced smile on his face, but refused to look at her. "I'll see you later." He took off, picking up Chantal as he ran, then jumping over the edge and into the deepening shadows.

Ladybug's earrings beeped again. She didn't have much time left. She let them get a few seconds' head start before jumping down herself.

He'd be all right, eventually. Maybe he ran off suddenly because he'd forgotten everything and was trying to hide that he was disoriented and confused. Everything would go back to normal. Cat Noir was fine.

Anxiety was quickly digging a pit in her stomach. She should be feeling happy. Everything was fine. There was nothing left to worry about. This was good.

She believed her own lies about the same amount that she had believed Cat Noir's fake smile.

* * *

 _Author note: And nobody lived happily ever after. The end. Ha ha. I'm just kidding. I'm not that evil. Did you catch my extremely subtle Harry Potter reference? :D I swear, I've been planning on using that friend line for months, way before that "She's just a good friend" nonsense started! One last thing, if you were planning on promoting the Miraculous charity zine "Up To the Test," your last chance to order is Feb 4. Here's the link with more info: tinyurl .com_ _/ybob8dum_

 _P.S. Why did I put so many fight scenes in this?! They're so hard to write!_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Ladybug landed on the deserted street next to the Eiffel Tower. An announcement would soon go out that the akuma had been defeated, and people would start trickling back within moments, so she detransformed while she still had a chance and took off in the direction of Anatole's apartment. Tikki ducked into her bag, and Marinette grabbed her phone. The texts from Alya were still there. That probably wasn't a good sign.

She'd gone two blocks before she stopped to catch her breath and check her direction. No one honked their horn at her. No one waved at her as she passed them. No one even looked twice at her. No one, except for Alya.

"Hey! There you are! Can you believe this?!"

Marinette caught her friend in a tight hug as the tightness in her chest started loosen. "Believe what?" she asked.

"I can't believe it! Argh!" She let go of Marinette and shook a fist at the sky, a fist that held her phone. "I texted her! I had her yoyo number in my phone, and it's gone! There were videos, comments, blog posts, all wiped!"

Marinette barely contained her relieved sigh. Everything on the internet was gone, too? That was one problem taken care of.

"So, how much do you remember, exactly?" she asked. "Uh, because I'm not sure... what I forgot?"

"Almost everything, I think." She grabbed Marinette's arm and started walking in the direction of home. With the sun down, the sky was getting darker by the second, and the wind had picked up even more. They probably had only minutes until they started getting wet.

"Almost everything" was more than Marinette had assumed, based on Cat Noir's reaction. He probably remembered most of it too, then. Would he remember where she lived? That he confessed to her? A piece of her was upset that she wouldn't be able to talk to Alya about that.

"Super frustrating," Alya said.

"Tell me about it. But you seem to be taking this well."

"To tell the truth," Alya said, leaning in, "I do remember one thing. That I wasn't surprised. You know what that means?"

Marinette shook her head, concerned. Alya gave her an evil grin. "She's already on my list of suspects. I'll let you know what I find out."

Deep internal sigh. Well, it hadn't been so bad having her best friend know, right?

Alya spent the first half of the trip home alternately telling Marinette to hurry up and picking her brain for what she remembered about the past few days. They were waiting at a crosswalk when Cat Noir landed on a lamp post right next to them.

Marinette put a hand to her mouth to try to cover her gasp. He looked bad. His face and ears were both drooping, and he seemed to be moving with the least energy possible. "Are you okay, Cat?" she said, then added quickly, "Noir?" Ladybug might be on a first-name basis with him, but Marinette wasn't. Not anymore. It felt weird.

"Oh, sure," he said, trying to straighten his shoulders and giving her a quick smile that was so sad it nearly broke her heart. "I was just looking for Alya, making sure she got away safely."

Putting others first, doing his job, even when he was obviously in pain. How like her Kitty. She couldn't help but wonder if he would have been more honest if she'd been in costume. There was a gap between them, and she didn't like it, didn't like it, didn't like it.

"I'm fine," Alya said with a smile. "Thanks for checking in on me." At least someone was happy.

"What about you, Marinette?" he asked. "That was probably pretty scary for you, too."

She smiled at him sadly. "I'm fine. Thank you." No familiarity. No nicknames. He was professional and perfectly polite.

She hated it.

A few fat raindrop plopped around them and splattered on their faces. Alya put her hands over her head, but Marinette covered her purse instead. She didn't want Tikki to catch a cold again.

"I should let you two get home," Cat Noir said and left without another word.

"Wow." The light turned, and Alya strode into the crosswalk. "He looked pretty heartbroken. I'm sure he'll be okay, though. He seems pretty resilient."

"I hope so."

"He must have forgotten, too," Alya continued. "I can't believe everyone forgot!"

"Yeah, it's a shame."

Despite the rain, Alya got her phone back out, shielding it with a hand. It wasn't very effective. "I've got to make a post about everything I learned, though. Chantal totally spilled her guts. She was dying to tell somebody."

"That was kind of her deal, telling secrets." And she had a _captive_ audience. Ugh! Stupid Cat! "So what happened?"

"University stuff," Alya said. "She had a really good interview with the ParisTech people, and she thought she had it in the bag, so she let everyone know. She thought she was just waiting for the confirmation letter. But she got accepted to Dauphine instead." The wind blew sheets of water all around them. Marinette could feel it starting to soak through her clothing and drip from her hair down the back of her neck. "She thought it was a mistake, that she could fix it. She didn't have the heart to disappoint everyone."

Alya bent over her phone, trying to use her body to protect it from the elements. Marinette had to steer her away from walls and keep her from walking into the street.

"Meanwhile, her boyfriend started applying for jobs down there and got a really good one near the campus. He put a security deposit on an apartment and everything."

"Oh," Marinette said. That's why Chantal claimed it had been her fault. She was the one who started the whole thing. "So that's what they fought about."

"Yeah," Alya said. "He surprised her with the good news, and she finally had to come clean. They both started accusing each other of hiding all sorts of things. The trust was broken." She stopped typing to look up at her friend. "Her secret ruined their relationship."

She turned back to her phone and continued to type. Would Marinette's secret ruin her relationship with her partner? Well, not _relationship_ relationship... Maybe, if it weren't for Adrien.

 _Adrien! Oh, no!_ He would have forgotten too. She was back to being just be that awkward girl at school to him. Too bad she couldn't let _him_ know her secret identity. They'd actually been getting somewhere!

Alya's voice brought her back to the present. "I love getting kidnapped by akumas."

"That makes one of us," Marinette grumbled. "I worry about you a lot. Every time." Alya squinted at her phone and didn't hear her.

* * *

By the time Marinette had gotten back home after dropping Alya off, she was soaked to the bone and it was dark outside. The last time she'd come home in a rain storm, the bakery had been closed, and her parents and Cat Noir had been waiting for her upstairs. When she came home this time, they were safe behind the counter of the empty shop, starting to close for the night.

"Oh, good," Sabine said. "We saw it on the news. We were hoping you'd be back soon."

Saw what on the news? What were they talking about?

"How's Alya handling it?" her mother continued.

"Did Cat Noir forget, too?" Tom asked.

"Uh..." Marinette stopped breathing. "Forget what?"

"That you're Ladybug," they said together.

"Uh, no? I'm not- don't know what you're-"

"It's all right," Sabine said, coming around the counter and putting her arms around her daughter. "We already knew, so there wasn't anything to take away." Marinette squirmed and almost got out of the hug before her father wrapped his arms around both of them. Her parents finding out was uncomfortable, but... actually, this wasn't so bad.

"Alya's fine," she said eventually. "Cat Noir forgot, too. He'll be okay." _I hope._

"A shame," Tom said. "I would have liked to have him around more often."

Sabine let go and held Marinette's face in her hands instead. "We know this is a dangerous job that you've taken, but it's comforting to know that you've got a good partner to help you."

* * *

There was only so much of the news reports she could handle. She'd watched people's reactions for over an hour. There was speculation on her identity. There were questions about why it had taken so long. There were theories on Chantal's motives. All were wrong. Rain pelted her dark skylight and thunder pealed outside. She hoped Cat Noir had gotten home okay. She couldn't text him to ask.

"Why are you still unhappy, Marinette?" Tikki asked, thoughtful. She'd come out of hiding as soon as Marinette closed the trapdoor and had immediately made sure that everything was back to normal. The pictures were back. The diary was in its case and locked up. She'd spent most of the evening watch Marinette grow increasingly restless while munching on cookies. "You should be happy. Chantal is safe, and Hawk Moth's been stopped for now. Everything's fine now. You got everything you wanted."

Marinette just shrugged. She'd gotten most of what she wanted. She'd never wanted Cat Noir to get hurt, especially not because of her.

She turned the news off, only to find herself on the Ladyblog a few seconds later. Alya had posted her information on Chantal, in a little more detail, along with her analysis of what the miraculous cure had done. What it was supposed to. Undone the damage the akuma had caused. All of it. Everyone's memories had been erased, along with anything that would remind them of what they'd forgotten. There were no hints, and no clues left anywhere. She was completely safe.  
Marinette skimmed the post and then the comments. Nothing new. She almost closed it to go back to the news when she saw a new comment near the bottom with Cat Noir's name in it. The poster reported that Cat Noir was still transformed and was running around in the rain.

Her heart sank. Had he been out there that whole time? She knew was upset, but she hadn't realized he was "run around in the rain for over an hour" upset. The poor boy was probably drenched and freezing. And lonely.

"Tikki, we're going," she said. The kwami looked up in confusion but didn't complain when she was pulled into the miraculous. His dot on her locator was close by and wasn't moving. There had to be something she could do to make him feel better. At the very least, she could let him know that she was going to be there for him.

Thunder cracked above her. They were both going to be soaked. She did have an umbrella, the one that Adrien had given her so long ago, the one she'd never had the desire to return. She grabbed it and pushed herself out into the rain.

She found Cat Noir in under a minute, sitting on the ledge of an apartment building, shoulders hunched, tail flopping over the edge. Ladybug landed behind him quietly, hoping that she wasn't going to upset him further by coming.

"It affects miraculous holders too," he said without turning toward her. "I've forgotten, so you should be safe from Hawk Moth." Even his hair looked sad. Instead of its normal crazy, carefree style, it was slicked down against his head. His cat ears were pressed flat, too. She brushed a hand against her hip, which had stopped hurting as soon as she'd used her miraculous cure. It wasn't fair that it had taken away her physical pain, but given him emotional pain.

There was plenty of room on the ledge, so she sat with him and opened the umbrella. It was too late to keep them dry, but maybe she could keep him from catching a cold. As soon as she was settled, he laid his head on her shoulder. Below them, the lamp posts gave off puddles of soft light.

Would it really be so bad if he knew who she was? Everyone already assumed that they did. Was it true what he'd said earlier? That she was just afraid of who he was underneath the mask? Was she afraid it would change their partnership? She'd spent so much time lately reacting in fear, but she shouldn't let fear make decisions for her. So what did she actually want? She rested her cheek on his head. It was freezing.

"How much do you remember?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. There's so many holes. A lot, I guess? That I was happy you were... you. That I met your family and really liked them. I don't remember anything about them, though. I remember-" He stopped to take a deep breath, like he was bracing himself for more pain. "That you like someone else. But I can't remember who it is."

She glanced down at him. There it was. The pain that she'd always expected. His face twisted with sorrow and with the effort to hide it from her, but it was too much for him to mask, and it was killing her. Why now? Why did this only bother him now?

They'd be safer with secrets. Their partnership was strong enough to survive keeping them. It wouldn't be ruined like Chantal's had been. But if they did, Cat Noir, the partner who loved her (and whom she loved back, just not the way he wanted) would be in pain. He lifted his head and wiped what she hoped were only raindrops off his cheeks. What should she do?

"I have to go," he said, getting up suddenly.

"Wait!" She scrambled to her feet, dropping the umbrella, which spun lazily near on the ledge. A gust of wind blowing the wrong way would send it over the edge. Cat Noir didn't stop.

"Wait!" she called again. She wasn't ready to make this decision yet. He crouched, preparing jump.

"MARINETTE!"

He froze, back still to her. Maybe this wasn't a smart idea. She felt like she'd swallowed all of the akumas she'd ever purified. There was no way to undo it this time. Despite how nervous she was, this still somehow felt... right. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she took a steadying breath.

"My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You know... Princess?"

He finally turned around, all shadow of hurt gone. His face held an odd mixture shock and elation, like someone had just proved that Santa really _was_ real. "I remember," he whispered. "I remember everything." He started walking back toward her. "Thank you for trusting me, My Lady." He picked up the umbrella before it got blown into the street below and handed it to her. She took it from him hesitantly, shielding them both, and had a strong sense of deja vu.

"I want you to know who I am," he said. "I want you to know all of me. Can I... can I tell you now? Please?"

She should have expected that question, honestly. "I still think it's dangerous, but it's your identity. It should be your decision."

"Really?!" Cat Noir was ecstatic, and it started to rub off on her.

She grinned up at him, unconcerned with how wet they were getting or how closely they were standing together. "Go _fur_ it."

"You just made a cat pun!"

"Oh, just tell me who you are already."

He didn't tell her. In a flash of green light, he detransformed for her. Ladybug stood transfixed as his clothes changed and his black ears and mask dissolved. A black kwami spun out of his ring, which had changed to shiny silver.

"FFFFIINNNAALLLY!" the kwami said.

In front of her stood Adrien Agreste.

Wait.

Waaaaait.

"So Cat hadn't- you weren't- not teasing me about having a crush on Adrien." They were the same person? That couldn't be right. "He- You were just r-really happy?" In what crazy universe was this possible?

"Pfft. Understatement of the year," the kwami said. "Now he can gush to _you_ about how much he loves you instead of me!"

"P-Plagg!" Adrien's blush was so deep she could see it in the dim light. "You can't say things like that!"

"What? You gush all the time."

"Hey!"

"Not my fault it's true."

Ladybug was still trying to get her brain back online. Cat Noir was Adrien? Adrien was Cat Noir? This was insane. Well, Adrien would make a great superhero, true, and Cat Noir's kindness rivaled Adrien's, sure, but the two were so different!

Her thoughts were chaotic. Fragments of ideas and reactions crowded her mind until they finally crystalized into one bright spot of clarity.

"OH MY GOSH YOU'VE BEEN IN MY ROOM!"

The two boys stopped arguing to look at her. After a few seconds of silence, Adrien started to laugh and gave her a very Cat-like grin, and she could finally see her partner in his face. It was better proof that they were the same person than seeing him transform had been.

"Yeah," he said with a growing smirk. "I love your décor."

Ladybug gasped. She reached out to smack his shoulder, but her caught her hand. "I've had some secrets of my own that I've been wanting to tell you. One was my identity." He gestured down at himself. "The second one, well, I hope I've made it clear that I like you, a lot. You're wonderful. My favorite part of any day is the part I get to spend with you." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. Ladybug was having trouble breathing. Was this actually happening? "What I'm trying to say is... I love you. I have from the very beginning."

Adrien was Cat Noir. Cat Noir was Adrien. She glanced up at the umbrella she still held over them, and he followed her gaze.

"Is that the one I gave you?"

"Y-yeah," she admitted quietly. "I kept it. I've loved you from the moment you handed it to me. I guess you already figured out how I feel, though."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. Their noses were almost touching. His other hand reached up to the umbrella and covered her fingers gently. "You can tell me as often as you like." He closed the gap between them and kissed her softly.

For the first time in three days, she felt truly warm. She let herself melt against him, felt the texture of his collar as her free hand reached up to cradle his head, the softness of his hair as she let her fingers run through it, and felt his lips on hers.

And then she felt a sharp pain on her forehead and jerked backward. "Wha-"

Plagg had a few strands of her bangs in his paws. "I want to see Tikki."

"Plagg! Seriously?!" How was Adrien still adorable when he was mad?

"You can see her later," Ladybug said as she flicked him away. "I'm busy."

She pulled Adrien back down to her. They kissed until the umbrella closed on them.

THE END

* * *

 _Author's notes: Wow. Thank you. Thank you for reading, and for loving my story. This is the first thing I've written that I've ever shared with a lot of people. Normally, I'll only show a few close friends or family members, if that. This whole experience has been amazing, and a huge confidence boost. So thank you! I've got more stories planned for this fandom (mostly reveals, because I NEED IT TO BE CANON), so I'll be back. ;)_


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